Prisoner for Blasphemy

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F

—V

PRISONER

\

i^ nJQJFT of IRVIH€ LEVY

"9^ FOR

BLASPHEMY.

BY

G. W. ^'OTE.

Persecution is not refutation, nor even trimnph: the
^ wretched injidel,^ <m he is catted, is probably happier
in his prison than the proudest of his assailants. — Btron.

LONDON:
PROGRESSIVE PUBLISHING COMPANY

28 Stonbcutxbb Street, E.C*

1886.

A

LONDON :

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED^BY G. W. POOTE,

AT 28 STONBCUTTEB STKEET, B.C.

CONTENTS.

PAGB

Pbetace ... ... ... ... 5

CHAPTERS.

L — ^Thb Storm Bbewino ... ... ..; 17

n. — Our First Summons ... ... ... 25

ni. — ^Mr. Bradlaugh Included ... ... 83

IV. — Our Indictment ... ... ... 40

V. — Another Prosecution... ... ... 48

VI. — Preparing for Trial... ... • ... 58

Vn. — ^At the Old Bailet ... ... ... 67

Vlil. — ^Newgate ... ... ... ... 84

IX. — The Second Trial ... ... ... 98

X.— "Black Maria" ... ... ... 107

XI. — HoLLOWAY Gaol ... ... ... 116

Xn. — ^Prison Life... ... ... ... 124

Xni. — Parson Plapord ... ... ... 141

XrV.— The Third Trial ... ... ... 152

XV. — ^Loss AND Gain ... ... ... 162

XVI.— A Long Night ... ... ... 169

XVn.— Daylight ... ... ... ... 176

PEEFACE.

This little volume tells a strange and painful story ;
strange, because the experiences of a prisoner for
blasphemy are only known to three living English-
men ; and painfuly because their unmerited sufferings
are a sad reflection on the boasted freedom of our age.

My own share in this misfortune is all I could
pretend to describe with fidelity. Without (I hope)
any meretricious display of fine writing, I have related
the facts of my case, giving a precise account of my
prosecutions, and as vivid a narrative as memory allows
of my imprisonment in Holloway Gaol. I have
striven throughout to be truthful and accurate, nothing
extenuating, nor setting down aught in malice ; and I
have tried to hit the happy mean between negligence
and prolixity. Whether or not I have succeeded in
the second respect the reader must be the judge ; and
if he cannot be so in the former respect, he will at
least be able to decide whether the writer means to be
candid smd bears the appearance of honesty.

One reason why I have striven to be exact is that my
record may be of service to the future historian of our
time. It is always rash to appeal to the future, as a
posturing English novelist did in one of his Prefaces ;
and it is well to remember the witticism of Voltaire,

6 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

vrhOy on hearing an ambitious poeticole read his Ode
to Posterity, doubted whether it would reach its
address. But it is the facts, and not my personality*
that are important in this case. My trial will be a
conspicuous event in the history of the struggle for
religious freedom, and in consequence of Lord Cole-
ridge^s and Sir James Stephen's utterances, it may be
of considerable moment in the history of the Criminal
Law. It is more than possible that I shall be the last
prisoner for blasphemy in England. That alone is a
circumstance of distinction, which gives my story a
special character, quite apart from my individuality.
As a muddle-headed acquaintance said, intending to be
complimentary. Some men are born to greatness,
others achieve it, and I had it thrust upon me.

Prosecutions for Blasphemy have not been frequent.
Sir James Stephen was able to record nearly all of
them in his '' History of the Criminal Law." The last
before mine occurred in 1857, when Thomas Pooley, a
poor Cornish well-sinker, was sentenced by the late
Mr. Justice Coleridge to twenty months* imprisonment
for chalking some "blasphemous" words on a gate-
post. Fortunately this monstrous punishment excited
public indignation. Mill, Buckle, and other eminent
men, interested themselves in the case, and Pooley was
released after undergoing a quarter of his sentence.
From that time until my prosecution, that is for nearly
a whole generation, the odious law was allowed to
slumber, although tons of " blasphemy " were published
every year. This long desuetude induced Sir James
Stephen, in his '< Digest of the Criminal Law" to
regard it as " practically obsolete." But the event has
proved that no law is obsolete until it is repealed. It
has also proved Lord Coleridge's observation that there

PREFACE. 7

is, in the case of some laws, a " discriminating laxity/*
as well as Professor Hunter's remark that the Blasphemy
Laws survive as a dangerous weapon in the hands
of any fool or fanatic who likes to set them in
motion.

In the pamphlet entitled Blasphemy No Crime^
which I published during my prosecution, and which
is still in print if anyone is curious to see it, I con-
tended that Blasphemy is only our old friend Heresy
in disguise, and that, we know, is a priestly manu-
facture. My view has since been borne out by two
high authorities. Lord Coleridge says that ^< this law
of blasphemous libel first appears in our books — ^at
least the cases relating to it are first reported — shortly
after the curtailment or abolition of the jurisdiction of
the Ecclesiastical Courts in matters temporal. Speaking
broadly, before the time of Charles II. these things
would have been dealt with as heresy ; and the libellers
so-called of more recent days would have suffered as
heretics in earlier times."* Sir James Stephen also,
after referring to the writ De Heretico Comburendo,
under which heresy and blasphemy were punishable
by burning alive, and which was abolished in 1677,
without abridging the jurisdiction of Ecclesiastical
Courts ^' in cases of atheism, blasphemy, heresie, or
schism, and other damnable doctrines and opinions,'*
adds that " In this state of things, the Court of Queen's
Bench took upon itself some of the functions of the
old Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission,
and treated as misdemeanours at common law many
things which those courts had formerly punished. . . .

* The Law of Blasphetnous Libel, The Summmg-np in the case of
Begina v. Foote and others. Revised with a Preface by the Lord
■Chief Justice of England. London * Stevens and Sons.

8 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

This was the origin of the modem law as to blasphemy
and blasphemous libel."*

Less than ten years after the " glorious revolution '^
of 1688 there was passed a statute, known as the 9 and
10 William HI., c. 32, and called " An Act for the more
effectual suppressing of Blasphemy and Profaneness.*^
This enacts that " any person or persons having been
educated in, or at any time having made profession of,
the Christian religion within this realm who shall, by
writing, printing, teaching, or advised speaking, deny
any one of the persons in the Holy Trinity to be God,
or. shall assert or maintain there are more gods than
one, or shall deny the Christian doctrine to be true, or
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to
be of divine authority," shall upon conviction be dis-
abled from holding any ecclesiastical, civil, or military
employment, and on a second conviction be imprisoned
for three years and deprived for ever of all civil
rights.

Lord • Coleridge and Sir James Stephen call this
statute ** ferocious," but as it is still unrepealed there is
no legal reason why it should not be enforced.
Curiously, however, the reservation which was inserted
to protect the Jews has frustrated the whole purpose of
the Act ; at any rate, there never has been a single
prosecution under it. So much of the statute as
affected the Unitarians was ostensibly repealed by the
53 George IH., c. 160. But Lord Eldon in 1817 doubted
whether it was ever repealed at all ; and so late as 1867
Chief Baron Kelly and Lord Bramwell, in the Court
of Exchequer, held that a lecture on " The Character
and Teachings of Christ : the former defective, the

• Blasphemy and Blasphemous LiheL By Sir James Stephen. Ftyrt-
nightly Review, March, 1884.

PBEPAOE. 9

latter misleading" was an offence against the statute.
It is not so clear, therefore, that Unitarians are out of
danger ; especially as the judges have held that this^
Act was special, without in any way affecting the
common law of Blasphemy, under which all prosecu*
tions have been conducted.

Dr. Blake Odgers, however, thinks the Unitarian&
are perfectly safe, and he has informed them so in a
memorandum on the Blasphemy Laws drawn up at
their request. This gentleman has a right to his opinion,
but no Unitarian of any courage will be proud of his
advice. He deliberately recommends the body to
which he belongs to pay no attention to the Blasphemy
Laws, and to lend no assistance to the agitation for
repealing them, on the ground that when you are safe
yourself it is Quixotic to trouble about another man's
danger ; which is, perhaps, the most cowardly and
contemptible suggestion that could be made. Several
Unitarians were burnt in Elizabeth's reign, two were
burnt in the reign of James L, and one narrowly
escaped hanging under the Commonwealth. The
whole body was excluded from the Toleration Act of
1688, and included in the Blasphemy Act of William
IIL But Unitarians have since yielded the place of
danger to more advanced bodies, and they may con-
gratulate themselves on their safety ; but to make their
own safety a reason for conniving at the persecution
of others is a depth of baseness which Dr. Blake
Odgers has fathomed, though happily without per-
suading the majority of his fellows to descend to the
same ignominy.

It will be observed that the Act specifies certain
heterodox opinions as blasphemous, and says nothing
as to the langiMige in which they may be couched.

10 PBISONBB FOB BLASPHEMY

Evidently the crime lay not in the manner^ but in the
matter. The Common Law has always held the same
view, and my Indictment, like that of all my prede-
<^essors, chained me with bringing the Holy Scriptures
and the Christian religion "into disbelief and con-
tempt." With all respect to Lord Coleridge's authority,
I cannot but think that Sir James Stephen is right in
maintaining that the crime of blasphemy consists in
the expression of certain opinions, and that it is only
■an aggravation of the crime to express them in
"offensive" language.

Judge North, on my first trial, plainly told the jury
that any denial of the existence of Deity or of Provi-
dence was blasphemy ; although on my second trial,
in order to procure a conviction, he narrowed his defi-
nition to " any contumelious or profane scoffing at the
Holy Scriptures or the Christian religion." It is
•evident, therefore, what his lordship believes the law
to be. With a certain order of minds it is best to deal
sharply ; their first statements are more likely to be
true than their second. For the rest, Judge North is
unworthy of consideration. It is remarkable that,
although he charged the jury twice in my case, Sir
James Stephen does not regard his views as worth
a mention.

Lord Coleridge says the law of blasphemy " is un-
doubtedly a disagreeable law," and in my opinion he
lets humanity get the better Of his legal judgment. He
lays it down that " if the decencies of controversy are
observed, even the fundamentals of religion may be
attacked without a person being guilty of blasphemous
libel."

Now such a decision can only be a stepping-stone to
the abolition of the law. Who can define " the decen-

PREFACE. 11

cieB of controversy ?" Everyone has his own criterion
in snch matters, which is usually unconscious and
fluctuating. What shocks one man pleases another.
Does not the proverb say that one man's meat Is
another man's poison ? Lord Coleridge reduces Blas-
phemy to a matter of taste, and de giistibua non estdis-
putandum. According to this view, the prosecution has
simply to put any heretical work into the hands of a
jury, and say " Gentlemen, do you like that ? If you
do, the prisoner is innocent ; if you do not, you must
And him guilty.'' Such a law puts a rope round the
neck of every writer who soars above commonplace,
or has any gift of wit or humor. It hands over the
discussion of all important topics to pedants and block-
heads, and bans the argumentum ad abswrdum which
has been employed by all the great satirists from Aris-
tophanes to Voltaire.

When Bishop South was reproached by an episcopal
brother for being witty in the pulpit, he replied, " My
dear brother in the Lord, do you mean to say that if
God had given you any wit you wouldn't have used
it r Let Bishop South stand for the " blasphemer,"
and his dull brother for the orthodox jury, and you
have the moral at once.

" Such a law,** says Sir James Stephen, " would never
work." Tou cannot really distinguish between sub-
stance and style ; you must either forbid or permit all
attacks on Christianity. ' Great religious and political
changes are never made by calm and moderate lan-
guage. Was any form of Christianity ever substituted
either for Paganism or any other form of Christianity
without heat, exaggeration, and fierce invective?
Saint Augustine ridiculed one of the Roman gods in
grossly indecent language. Men cannot discuss

12 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

doctrines like eternal punishment as they do questions
in philology. And " to say that you may discuss the
truth of religion, but that you may not hold up ita
doctrines to contempt, ridicule, or indignation, is
either to take away with one hand what you concede
with the other, or to confine the discussion to a small
and in many ways uninfluential class of persons.'*
Besides, Sir James Stephen says,

"There is one reflection which seems to me to prove with
conclusive force that the law upon this subject can be explained
and justified only on what 1 regard as its true principle — the
principle of persecution. It is that if the law were really im-
partial, and punished blasphemy only because it offends the
feelings of believers, it ought also to punish such preaching as
offends the feelings of unbelievers. All the more earnest and
enthusiastic forms of religion are extremely offensive to those
who do not believe them. Why should not people who are not
Christians be protected against the rough, coarse, ignorant
ferocity with which they are often told that they and theirs are
on the way to hell-fire for ever and ever? Such a doctrine,
though necessary to be known if true, is, if false, revolting and
mischievous to the last degree. If the law in no degree
recognised these doctrines as true, if it were as neutral as the
Indian Penal Code is between Hindoos and Mohametans, it would
have to apply to the Salvation Army the same rule as it applies to
the Freethinker and its contributors."

Excellently put. I argued in the same way, though
perhaps less tersely, in my defence. I pointed out
that there is no law to protect the " decencies of
controversy " in any but religious discussions, and this
exception can only be defended oh the ground that
Christianity is true and must not be attacked. But
Lord Coleridge holds that it may be attacked. How
then can he ask that it shall only be attacked in polite
language ? And if Freethinkers must only strike with
kid gloves, why are Christians allowed to use not only

PBEFAGE. 13

the naked fist, but knuckle-dusterSy bludgeons, and
daggers ? In the war of ideas, any party which imposes
restraints on others to which it does not subject itself »
is guilty of persecution ; and the finest phrases, and
the most dexterous special pleading, Cannot alter the
fact.

Sir James Stephen holds that the Blasphemy Laws
are concerned with the matter of publications, that " a
large part of the most serious and most important
literature of the day is illegal," and that every book-
seller who sells, and everyone who lends to his friend,
a copy of Comte's Positive Philosophy^ or of Kenan's
Vi^ de Jesus^ commits a crime punishable with fine
and imprisonment. Sir James Stephen dislikes the law
profoundly, but he prefers "stating it in its natural naked
deformity to explaining it away in such a manner as to
prolong its existence and give it an air of plausibility
and humanity." To terminate this mischievous law
he has drafted a Bill, which many Liberal members of
Parliament have promised to support, and which will
soon be introduced. Its text is a follows : —

"Whereas certain laws now in force and intended for the
promotion of religion are no longer suitable for that purpose
and it is expedient to repeal them,

" Be it enacted as follows : —

"1. After the passing of this Act no criminal proceedings
shall be instituted in any Court whatever, against any person
whatever, for Atheism, blasphemy at common law, blasphemous
libel, heresy, or schism, except only criminal proceedings in-
stituted in Ecclesiastical Courts against clergymen of the
Church of England.

" 2. An Act passed in the first year of his late Majesty King
Edward VL, c. 1, intituled ' An Act against such as shall un-
reverently speak against the .sacrament of the body and blood
of Christ, commonly called the sacrament of the altar, and for
the receiving thereof in both kinds,* and an Ac t passed in the

14 PRISONER FOR BLA8PHE3iy.

9th and 10th year of his late Majesty King William ELL, c.
35, intituled an Act for the more effectual suppressing of blas-
phemy and profaneness are hereby repealed.

" 3. Provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed
to affect the provisions of an Act passed in the nineteenth year
of his late Majesty King George IL, c. 21, intituled * An Act
more effectually to prevent profane cursing and swearing,' or
any other provision of any other Act of Parliament not hereby
expressly repealed."

Until this Bill is carried no heterodox writer i»
safe. Sir James Stephen's view of the law may
be shared by other judges^ and if a bigot sat on the
bench he might pass a heavy sentence on a dis-
tinguished "blasphemer." Let it not be said that
their manner is so different from mine that no jury
would convict ; for when I read extracts from Clifford^
Swinburne, Maudsley, Matthew Arnold, James Thom-
son, Lord Amberley, Huxley, and other heretics
whose works are circulated by Mudie, Lord Coleridge
remarked " I confess, as I heard them, I had, and have
a difficulty in distinguishing them from the alleged
libels. They do appear to me to be open to the same
charge, on the same grounds, as Mr. Foote's writings."

Personally I understand the Blasphemy Laws well
enough. They are the last relics of religious persecu-
tion. What Lord Coleridge read from Starkie as the
law of blasphemous libel, I regard with Sir James^
Stephen as " flabby verbiage." Lord Coleridge is him-
self a master of style, and I suppose his admiration of
Starkie's personal character has blinded his judgment.
Starkie simply raises a cloud of words to hide the real
nature of the Blasphemy Laws. He shows how Free-
thinkers may be punished without avowing the
principle of persecution. Instead of frankly saying
that Christianity must not be attacked, he imputes to

PREFACE. l^

aggressive heretics ^'a malicious and mischievonfr
intention/' and ^'apathy and indifference to the
interests of society ;*' and he justifies their being pun-
ished, not for their actions, but for their motives : a
principle which, if it were introduced into our juris-
prudence, would produce a chaos.

Could there be a more ridiculous assumption than
that a man who braves obloquy, social ostracism, and
imprisonment for his principles, is indifferent to the
interests of society? Let Christianity strike Free-
thinkers if it will, but why add insult to injury ? Why
brand us as cowards when you martyr us? Why
charge us with hypocrisy when we dare your hate?

Persecution, like superstition, dies hard, but it dies..
What though I have suffered the heaviest punishment
inflicted on a Freethinker for a hundred and twenty
years ? Is not the night always darkest and coldest
before the dawn? Is not the tiger's dying spring
most fierce and terrible ?

My sufferings, therefore, are not without the balm
of consolation. I see that the future is already
brightening with a new hope. Without rising to the
supreme height of Danton, who cried ** Let my name
be blighted so that France be free," I feel a humbler
pleasure in reflecting that I may have been instru-
mental in breakirg the last fetter on the freedom of
the press.

G. W. FOOTB.
Fehruary Ist, 1886.

GIFT OF IRVIN6 LEVY

CHAPTER I.
THE STOBM BREWING.

In the merry month of May, 1881, I started a paper
called the Freethinker^ with the avowed object of
waging " relentless war against Superstition in genera^
and the Christian Superstition in particular.*' I stated
in the first paragraph of the first number that this new
journal would have a new policy ; that it would " do
its best to employ the resources of Science, Scholarship,
Philosophy and Ethics against the claims of the Bible
as a Divine Revelation," and that it would "not
scruple to employ for the same purpose any weapons
of ridicule or sarcasm that might be borro^^ed from the
armomy of Common Sense."

As the Freethinker was published at the people's price
of a penny, and was always edited in a lively style,
with a few short articles and plenty of racy paragraphs,
it succeeded from the first ; and becoming well known,
not through profuse advertisement, but through the
recommendation of its readers, its circulation increased
every week. Within a year of its birth it had out-
di'^oanced all its predecessors. No Freethought journal
e*er progressed with such amazing rapidity. True,
this was largely due to the fact that the Freethought
party had immensely increased in numbers ; but much
of it was also due to the policy of the paper, which
supplied, as the advertising gentry say, "a long-felt
want." Although the first clause of its original pro-
gramme was never wholly forgotten, we gradually paid
the greatest attention to the second, indulging more

18 FBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

and more in Ridicule and Sarcasm, and more and more
cultivating Common Sense. A dangerous policy, as I
was sometimes warned ; but for that very reason all
the more necessary. The more Bigotry writhed and
raged, the more I felt that our policy was telling.
Borrowing a metaphor from Carlyle's " Frederick," I
likened Superstition to the boa, which defies all pon-
derous assaults, and will not yield to the pounding of
sledge-hammers, but sinks dead when some expert
thrusts in a needle's point and punctures the spinsd
column.

I had a further incentive. Mr. Bradlaugh's infamons
treatment by the bigots had revolutionised my ideas
of Freethought policy. Although never timid, I was
until then practically ignorant of the horrible spirit of
persecution ; and with the generous enthusiasm of
youth I fondly imagined that the period of combat
was ended, that the -liberty of platform and press was
finally won, that Supernaturalism was hopelessly
scotched although obviously not slain, and that Free-
thinkers should now devote themselves to cultivating
the fields they had won instead of raiding into the
enemy's territory. Alas for the illusions of hope I
They were rudely dispelled by a few " scenes " in the
House of Commons, and barred from all chance of re-
gathering by the wild display of intolerance outside. I
saw, in quite another sense than Garth Wilkinson's,
the profound truth of his saying that —

"The Dnke of Wellington's advice, Do not make a little war,
is applicable to internal conflicts against evil in society. For
little wars have no background of resources, they do not know
tiie strength of the enemy, and the peace that follows them for
the most part leaves the evil in dispute nearly its whole terri-
tory ; perhaps is purchased by guaranteeing the evil by treaty ;
and leaves the case of offence more difficult of attack by reason
of concession to wrong premises." *

Yes, the war with Superstition must be fought d
ouiramce. We must decline either treaty or truce. I
hold that the one great work of our time is the destruc-
tion of theology, the immemorial enemy of mankind,

* « Human Science and Divine Revelation,'' Preface p. vi

THE STOBM BREWING. 19

which has wasted in the chase of chimeras very much
of the world's best intellect, fatally perverted our moral
sentiments, fomented discord and division, supported
all the tyranny of privilege and sanctioned all debase-
mient of the people. Far be it from me to argue this
point with any dissident. I prefer to leave him to the
logic of events, which has convinced me, and may
some day convince him.

But to recur. Before the Freethinker had reached its
third number I began to reflect on the advisability of
illustrating it, and bringing in the artist's pencil to aid
the writer's pen. I soon resolved to do this, and the
third and fourth numbers contained a woodcut on the
front page. In the fifth number there appeared an
exquisite little burlesque sketch of the Calling of
Samuel, by a skilful artist whose name I cannot dis-
close. Although not ostensibly, it was actually, the
first of those Comic Bible Sketches for which the Free-
thinker afterwards became famous ; and from that date,
with the exception of occasional intervals due to
difficulties there is no need to explain, my little
paper was regularly illustrated. During the Whole
twelve months of my imprisonment the illustrations
were discontinued by my express order. I was not
averse to their appearing, but I knew the terrible
obstacles and dangers my temporary successor would
have to meet, and I left him a written prohibition of
them, which he was free to publish, in order to shield
him against the possible charge of cowardice. Since
my release from prison they have been resumed, and
they will be continued until I go to prison again, unless
I see some better reason' than Christian menace for
their cessation.

The same fifth number of the Freethinker contained
an account of the first part of " La Bible Amusante,"
issued by the Anti-Clerical publishing house in the
Rue des Ecoles. That notice was from my own pen,
and I venture to reprint the opening paragraphs.

"Voltaire's method of attacking Christianity has always
approved itself to French Freethinkers. They regard the state-
ment that he treated religious questions in a spirit of levity as

20 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

the weak defence of those who know that irony and Barcasm are
the deadliest enemies of their faith. Superstition dislikes arga-
ment, but it hates laughter. Nimble and far-flashing wit is more
potent against error than the slow dull logic of the schools ; and
the great humorists and wits of the world have done far more to
clear its head and sweeten its heart than all its sober philosophers
from Aristotle to Eant

" We in England have Comic Histories, Comic Geographies,
and Comic Grammars, but a Comic Bible would horrify us. At
sight of such blasphemy Bumble would s^iuxd aghast, .and Mrs.
Grundy would scream with terror. But Bumble and Mrs.
Grundy are less important personages in France, and so the
country of Rabelais and Voltaire produces what we are unable
to tolerate in thought."

I concluded by saying — " We shall introduce the sub-
sequent numbers to the attention of our readers, and,
if possible, we shall reproduce in the Freethinker some
of the raciest plates. We shall be greeted with shrieks
of pious wrath if we do so, but we are not easily
frightened."

There was really more than editorial fashion in this
" we," for at that time Mr. Ramsey was half proprietor
of the Freethinker, and his consent had of course to be
obtained before I could undertake such a dangerous
enterprise. I gladly avow that he showed no hesita-
tion ; on the contrary, he heartily fell in with the
project. He frankly left the editorial conduct of our
paper in my hands, despised the accusation of Blas-
phemy, and defied its law. His half-proprietorship of
the Freethinker has terminated, but we still work
together in our several ways for the cause of Free-
thought. Mr. Ramsey went with me into the furnace
of persecution, and he bore his sufferings with manly
fortitude.

The Freethinker steadily progressed in circulation,
and in January, 1882, 1 was able to secure the services
of my old friend, Joseph Mazzini Wheeler, as sub-
editor. He had for long years contributed gratuitously
to my literary ventures, and those who ever turn over
a file of the Secularist or the Liberal will see with
what activity he wielded his trenchant pen. When he
became my paid sub-editor, our relations remained
unchanged. We worked as loyal colleagues for a cause

THE STOBM BBEWIK0. 21

we both loved, and treated as a mere accident the fact
of my being his principal. The same feeling animates
us still, nor do I think it can ever suffer alteration.

The new year's number, dated January 1, 1882, re-
ferred to Mr. Wheeler's accession, and to that of Dr.
Edward Aveling, who then became a member of the
regular staff. It also referred to the policy of the Free-
thmkeTy and to another subject of the gravest interest
— namely, the threats of prosecution which had ap-
peared in several Christian journals. As ^^ pieces of
justification," to use a French phrase, I quote these two

" Our ill-wishers (what journal has none ?) have been of two
kinds. In the first place, the Christians, disgusted with our
' blasphemy,* predicted a speedy failure, llie wish was father
to the thought These latter-day prophets were just as false
as their predecessors. Now that they witness our indisputable
success, they shake their heads, look at us askance, mutter
something like curses, and pray the Lord to turn us from our
evil ways. One or two bigots, more than ordinarily foolish, have
threatened to suppress us with the strong arm of the law. We
defy them to do their worst We have no wish to play the
martyr, but we should not object to take a part m dragging the
monster of persecution into the light of day, even at the cost of
some bites and scratches. As the Freethinker was intended to
be a fighting organ, the sayage hostility of the enemy is its best
praise. We mean to incur their hatred more and more. The
war with superstition should be ruthless. We ask no quarter
and we shall give none.

" Secondly, we have had to encounter the dislike of mealy-
mouthed Freethinkers, who want omelettes without breaking of
eggs and revolutions without shedding of blood. They object
to ridiculing people who say that twice two are five. They even
resent a dogmatic statement that twice two are four. Perhaps
they think four and a half a very fair compromise. Now this is
recreancy to truth, and therefore to progress. No great cause
was ever won by the half-hearted. Xet us be faithful to our
convictions, and shun paltering in a double sense. Truth, as
iUnan says, can dispense with politeness ; and while we shall
never stoop to personal slander or innuendo, we shall assail
error without tenderness or mercy. And if, as we believe, ridi-
cule is the most potent weapon against superstition, we shall not
scruple to use it*'

These extracts from my old manifestoes may possess
little other value, but they at least show this, that the

22 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

peculiar policy of the Freethinker was not adopted in a
moment of levity, but was from the first deliberately
pursued ; and that while I held on the even tenor of
my way, I was fully conscious of its dangers.

Early in January there fell into my hands a copy of
a circular to Members of Parliament by Henry Varley,
the Netting Hill revivalist. This person was a notorious
trader in scandal, and he still pursues that avocation.
Many of his discourses are " delivered to men only,"
an advertisement which is sure to attract a large audi-
ence ; and one of them, which he has published, is just
on a level with the quack publications that are thrust
into young men's hands in the street. Henry Varley
had already issued one private circular about Mr.
Bradlaugh, full of the most brazen falsehoods and the
grossest defamation ; and containing, as it did, garbled
extracts from Mr. Bradlaugh's writings, and artfully-
manipulated quotations from books he had never
written or published, it undoubtedly did him a serious
injury. The new circular was worthy of the author of
the first. It was addressed " To the Members of the
House of Commons," and was " for private circulation
only." The indignant butcher, for that is his trade,
wished " to submit to their notice the horrible blas-
phemies that are appended, and quoted from a new
weekly publication issued from the office where Mr.
Bradlaugh's weekly journal, t\iQ National Beformer^i^
published. The paper is entitled the Freethinker^ and
is edited by G. W. Foote, one of Mr. Bradlaugh's pro-
minent supporters, and one of his right hand men at
the Hall of Science." The Commons of England were
also requested to notice that "Dr. Aveling, who for
some years has been one of Mr. Bradlaugh's chief
helpers, is another contributor to this disgraceful pro»-
duct of Atheism." In conclusion, they were called
upon to " devise means to stay this hideous prostitution
of the liberty of the Press, by making these shameless
blasphemers amenable to the existing law."

It is a curious thing that such a fervid champion of
religion should always attack unbelievers with private
circulars. Yet this is the policy that Henry Varley has
always pursued. He is a religious bravo, who lurks

THE STOBM BHEWING. 23

in the dark, and strikes at Freethinkers with a poisoned
dagger. More than once he has flooded Northampton
with the foulest libels on Mr. Bradlaogh, invariably
issued without the printer's name, in open violation of
the law. He is liable for a fine of five pounds for every
copy circulated, but the action must be initiated by the
Attorney-General, and our Christian Government re-
fuses to punish when the offence is committed by one
of their own creed, and the sufferer is only an Atheist.
Varley's circular served its evil purpose, for soon
after Parliament assembled in February, Mr. C. K.
Freshfield, member for Dover, asked the Home Secre-
tary whether the Government intended to prosecute
the Freethinker, Sir William Harcourt gave the
following reply : —

" I am sorry to say my attention has been called to a paper
bearing the title of the Freethinker, published in Northampton,
and I agree that nothing can be more pernicious to the minds of
right-thinking people than publications of that description
— (cheers) — ^but 1 think it has been the view for a great many
years of all persons responsible in these matters, that more harm
than advantage is produced to public morals by Government
prosecutions in cases of this kind. (Hear, hear). I believe they
are better left to the reprobation wnich they will meet in this
country from all decent members of society. (Cheers)."

This highly disingeuous answer was characteristic of
the member for Derby. His reference to the Freethinker
as published at Northampton, clearly proves that he
had never seen it ; and his unctuous allusions to ** public
morals " and " decent members of society " are further
evidence in the same direction. The Freethinker was
accused of blasphemy, but until Sir William Harcourt
gave the cue not even its worst enemies charged it
with indecency. In a later stage of my narrative I
shall have to show that the " Liberal " Home Secretary
has acted the part of an unscrupulous bigot, utterly
regardless of truth, justice and honor.

I thought it my duty to write an open letter to Sir
William Harcourt on the subject of his answer to
Mr. Freshfield, in which I said—" I tell you that you
could not suppress the Freethinker if you tried. The
martyr spirit of Freethought is not dead, and the men

24 PEISONEE FOB BLASPHEMY.

who sufEered imprisonment for liberty of speech a
generation ago have not left degenerate successors.
Should the necessity arise, there are Freethinkers who
will not shrink from the same sacrifice for the same
cause." The sequel has shown that this was no idle
boast.

A few days later the Freethinker was again the subject
of a question in the House. Mr. Redmond, member
for New Ross, asked the Home Secretary "whether
the Government had power to seize and summarily
suppress newspapers which they considered pernicions
to public morals ; and, if so, why that power was not
exercised in the case of the Freethinker and other papers
now published and circulated in England." Sir William
Harcourt repeated the answer he gave to Mr. Fresh-
field, and added that it would not be discreet to say
whether the Government had power to seize obnoxious
publications.

Mr. Redmond's question was a fine piece of impu-
dence. Assuming that he represented all the voters in
New Ross, his constituents numbered two hundred and
sixty-one ; and they could all be conveyed to Westmin-
ster in a tithe of the vehicles that brought people to
Holloway Gaol to welcome me on the morning of my
release. The total population of New Ross, including
men, women and children, is less than seven thousand ;
a number that fell far short of the readers of the Free-^
thinker even then. Representing a mere handful of
people, Mr. Redmond had tlie audacity to ask for the
summary suppression of a journal which is read in
every part of the English-speaking world.

Nothing further of an exciting nature in connexion
with my case occurred until early in May, when a
prosecution for Blasphemy was instituted at Tunbridge
Wells against Mr. Henry Seymour, Honorary Secretary
of the local branch of the National Secular Society.
This Brarch had been the object of continued outrage
and persecution, chiefly instigated, I have reason to
believe, by Canon Hoare. The printed announcements
outside their meeting-place were frequently painted
over in presence of the police, who refused to interfere.
Finally the police called on all the local bill-posters

THE STOBM BBEWING. 25

and warned them against exhibiting the Society's
placards. Stnng by these disgraceful tactics, Mr.
Seymour issued a jocular programme of an evening's
entertainment at the Society's hall, one profane sentence
of which, while it in no way disturbed the peace or
serenity of the town, aroused intense indignation in
the breasts of the professional guardians of religion and
morality. They therefore cited Mr. Seymour before
Qie Justices of Uie Peace, and charged him with pub-
lishing a blasphemous libel. He was committed for
trial at the next assizes, and in the meantime liberated
on a hundred pounds bail. Acting under advice, Mr.
Seymour pleaded guilty, and was discharged on finding
sureties for his appearance when called up for judgment.
This grievous error was a distinct encouragement to
the bigots. Their appetite was whetted by this morsel,
and they immediately sought a full repast.

My own attitude was one of defiance. In the J?Vee-
thinker of May 14 I denounced the bigots as cowards
for pouncing on a comparatively obscure member of
the Freethought party, and I challenged them to attack
its leaders before they assailed the rank and file. This
challenge was cited against me on my own trial, but I
do not regret it ; and indeed I doubt if any man ever
regretted that his sense of duty triumphed over his
sense of danger.

CHAPTER II.

OUR FIRST SUMMONS.

Some day in the first week of July (I fancy it was
Thursday, the 6th, but I cannot distinguish it with
perfect precision, as some of my memoranda were
scattered by my imprisoDment) I enjoyed one of those
very rare trips into the country which my engagements
allowed. I was accompanied by two old friends, Mr.

26 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEliY.

J. M. Wheeler and Mr. John Robertson, the latter being
then on a brief first visit to London. We went up the
river by boat, walked for hours about Kew and Rich-
mond, and sat on the famous Terrace in the early
evening, enjoying the lovely prospect, and discussing a
long letter from Italy, written by one of our best friends,
who was spending a year in that poet's paradise. How
we chattered all through that golden day on all sub-
jects, in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, and
in the waters under the earth I With what fresh de-
light, in keeping with the scene, we compared our
favorite authors and capped each other's quotations I
Rare Walt Whitman told Mr. Conway that his forte
was " loafing and writing poems." Well, we loafed too,
and if we did not write poems, we startled the birds,
the sheep, the cattle, and stray pedestrians, by reciting
them. I returned home with that pleasant feeling of
fatigue which is a good sign of health — ^with tired limbs
and a clear brain, languid but not jaded. Throwing
myself into the chair before my desk, I lit my pipe,
and sat calmly puffing, while the incidents of that
. happy day fioated through my memory as I watched
the floating smoke- wreaths. Casually turning round,
I noticed a queer-looking sheet of paper on the desk.
I picked it up and read it. It was a summons from
the Lord Mayor, commanding my attendance at the
Mansion House on the following Tuesday, to answer a
charge of Blasphemy. Strange ending to such a day I
What a tragi-comedy life is — how full of contrasts and
surprises, of laughter and tears.

Two others were summoned to appear with me :
Mr. W. J. Ramsey, as publisher and proprietor, and
Mr. E. W. Whittle, as printer. Mr. Bradlaugh, who
was not included in the prosecution until a later stage
of the proceedings, rendered us ungrudging assistance.
Mr. Lickfold, of the well-known legal firm of Lewis
and Lewis, was engaged to watch the case on behalf of
Mr. Whittle. As for my own defence, I resolved from
the very first to conduct it myself, a course for which
I had excellent reasons, that were perfectly justified
by subsequent events. In the Freethinker of July 30,
1882, 1 wrote :

OUR FIK8T SUMMONS. 27

** I have to defend a principle as well as myself. The most
skilful counsel might be naif -hearted and over-prudent. Every
lawyer looks to himself as well as to his client When Erskine
made his great speech at the end of last century in a famous trial
for treason, Thomas Paine said it was a splendid speech for
Mr. Erskine, but a very poor defence of the ** Rights of Man."
If Freethought is attacked it must be defended, and the charge
of Blasphemy must be retorted on those who try to suppress
libertv in the name of God. For my part, I would rather be con-
victed after my own defence than after another man^s ; and be-
fore I leave the court, for whatever destination, I will make the
ears of bigotry tingle, and shame the hypocrites who profess and
disbelieve."

For whatever destination I Yes, I avow that from
the moment I read the summons I never had a doubt
as to my fate. I knew that prosecntions for Blasphemy-
had invariably succeeded. How, indeed, could they
possibly fail ? I might by skill or luck get one jury
to disagree, but acquittal was hopeless ; and the prose-
cution could go on trying me until they found a jury
sufficiently orthodox to ensure a verdict of guilty. It
was a foregone conclusion. The prosecution played,
" Heads I win, tails you lose.**

And now a word as to our prosecutor. Nominally,
of course, we were prosecuted by the Crown ; and
Judge North had the ignorance or impudence to tell
the Old Bailey jury that this was not only theory but
fact. Lord Coleridge, when he tried as two months
later in the Court of Queen's Bench, told the jury that
although the nominal prosecutor was the Crown, the
actual prosecutor, the real plaintiff who set the Crown
in motion, was Sir Henry Tyler. He provided all the
necessary funds. Without his cash, nobody would
have paid for the summons, and the pious lawyers,
from Sir Hardinge Giffard downwards, who har-
angued the magistrates, the judge and the jury,
would have held their venal tongues, and left poor
Religion to defend herself as she coxdd. And who is
Sir Henry Tyler ? or, rather, who was he ? for after
emerging into public notoriety by playing the part of
a prosecutor, he fell back into his natural obscurity.
He remained a Member of Parliament, but no one heard
of him in that capacity, except now and then when he

28 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

asked a foolish question, like others of his kind, who are
mysteriously permitted to sit in our national legislature.
Three years ago, however, he was a more conspicuous
personage. He was then chairman of the Board of
Directors of the Brush Light Company ; and according
to Henry Labouchere's statements in Truths he was a
" notorious guinea-pig." He was certainly an adept in
the profitable transfer of shares : so much so, indeed,
that at length the shareholders revolted against their
pious chairman, aud appointed a committee to investi-
gate his proceedings. Whereupon this modern Enight
of the Holy Ghost levanted, preferring to resign rather
than face the inquiry. This is the man who asked
in the House of Commons whether Mr. Bradlaugh's
daughters could not be deprived of their hard-earned
grants for their pupils who successfully passed the
South Kensington examinations ! This is the man
who posed as the amateur champion of omnipotence I
Surely if deity wanted a champion. Sir Henry Tyler
is about the last person who would receive an applica*
tion. Yet it is men of this stamp who have usually
set the Blasphemy Laws in operation. These infamous
laws are allowed to slumber for years, until some con-
temptible wretch, to gratify his private malice or a
baser passion, rouses them into vicious activity, and
fastens their fangs on men whose characters are far
superior to his own. With this fact before them, it
is strange that Christians should continue to regard
these detestable laws as a bulwark of their faith, or in
any way calculated to defend it agaiitst the inroads of
« infidelity."

Sir Henry Tyler may after all have been a tool in the
hands of others, for the 8t Steph&rHs Review has ad-
mitted that the object of this prosecution was to cripple
Mr. Bradlaugh in his parliamentary struggle, and we
expected a prosecution long before it came, in conse-
quence of some conversation on the subject overheard
in the Tea Room of the House of Commons. But this,
if true, while it heightens his insignificance, in no wise
lessens his infamy ; and it certainly does not impair,
but rather increases, the force of my strictures on the
Blasphemy Laws.

OUB FIBST SUMMONS. 29

Lord Coleridge, in the Court of Queen's Bench, on
the occasion of Mr. Bradlaugh's trial, sarcastically
alluded to Sir Henry Tyler as " a person entirely un-
known to me " — a very polite way of saying, *' What
does such an obscure person mean by assuming the r6le
of Defender of the Faith ?^' His lordship must also
have had that individual in his mind when, on the oc-
casion of my own trial with Mr. Ramsey in the same
Court on April 25, 1883, he delivered himself of
tiiese sentiment in the course of his famous summing-
up :

*' A difficult fonn of virtue is quietly and unostentatiously to
obey what you believe to be God's will in your own lives. It is
not very ea^ to do that, and if you do it, you don't make much
noise in the world. It is very easy to turn upon somebody who
differs from you, and in the guise of zeal for Grod's honor, to
attack somebody who differs from you in point of opinion, but
whose life may be very much more pleasing to God, whom you
profess to honor, than your own. When it is done by persons
whose own lives are fidl of pretending to be better than their
neighbors, and who take that particular form of zeal for Grod
which consists in putting the criminal law in force against some-
body else — ^that does not, in many people's minds, create a sym-
pathy with the prosecutor, but rather with the defendant. There
is no doubt that will be so ; and if they should be men — ^I don't
know anything about these persons— but if they should be men
who enjoy the. wit of Voltaire, and who do not turn away from
the sneer of Gibbon, but rather relish the irony of Hume — one's
feelings do not go quite with the prosecutor, but one's feelings
are rather apt to sympathise with the defendants. It is sml
worse if the person who takes this course takes it not from a kind
of rough notion that God wants his assistance, and that he can
give it — less on his own account than by prosecuting others — or
if it is mixed up with anything of a partisan or political nature.
Then it is impossible that anything can be more foreign from
one's notions of what is high-minded, religious and noble. In-
deed, I must say it strikes me that anyone who would do that,
not for the honor of God, but for his own purposes, is entitled to
the most disdainful disapprobation that the human mind can
form"

Some of the orthodox Tory journals censured Lord
Coleridge for these scathing remarks, but his lordship
is not easily frightened by anonymous critics, and it
is probable that, if he ever has to try another case like
ours, he may denounce the prosecutors in still stronf

30 PRISONER FOB BLASFHBMT.

language if their motives are so obviously sinister as
were those of Sir Henry Tyler.

There was a great crowd of people outside the Man-
sion House on Tuesday morning, May 11, and we were
lustily cheered as we entered. Long before the Lord
Mayor, Sir Whittaker Ellis, took his seat on the Bench,
every inch of standing space in the Justice Room was
occupied. Mr. Bradlaugh took a seat near Mr. Lick-
fold and frequently tendered us hints and advice. Mr.
Ramsey, Mr. Whittle, and I took our places in the dock
as our names were called out by Mr. G-resham, the chief
clerk of the court. Our summons alleged that we un-
lawfully did publish, or caused to be published, certain
blasphemous libels in a newspaper called the Freethinker^
dated the 28th of May, 1882.

Mr. Maloney, who appeared for the prosecution,
seemed fully impressed with the gravity of his position,
and when he rose he had the air of a man who bore
the responsibility of defending in his single person the
honor, if not the very existence, of our national religion.
His first proceeding was very characteristic of a gentle-
man with such a noble task. He attempted to hand in
as evidence against us several numbers of the Free-
thinker not mentioned in the summons, and these would
have been at once admitted by the Lord Mayor, who
was apparently used to accepting evidence in an ex-
tremely free and easy fashion, as is generally the case
with the " great unpaid " ; but Mr. Lickfold promptly
intervened, and his lordship, seeing the necessity of
carefulness, then held that it would be advisable to
adhere to the one case that morning, and to take out
fresh summonses for the other numbers. Mr. Maloney
then proceeded to deal with the numbers before the
Court. There were numerous blasphemies which, if
we were committed for trial, would be set forth in the
indictment, but he would " spare the ears of the Court."
One passage, however, he did read, and it is well to put
on record, for the sake of those who talk about our
" indecent " attacks on Christianity, what a prosecuting
barrister felt he could rely on to procure our committal.
It was as follows : "As for the Freethinker, he will
scorn to degrade himself by going through the farce of

OUB FIBST SUMMONS. 31

reconciling his soul to a God whom he jnstly regards as
the embodiment of crime and ferocity." Those words
were not mine ; they were from an article by one
of my contributors ; but I ask any reasonable man
whether it is not ludicrous to prate about religious
freedom in a country where writers run the risk of im-
prisonment for a sentence like that ? As Mr. Maloney
ended the quotation his voice sank to a supernatural
whisper, he dropped the paper on the desk before him,
and regarded his lordship with a look of pathetic
horror, which the worthy magistrate fully reciprocated.
As I contemplated these two voluntary augurs of our
national faith, and at the same time remembered that
far stronger expressions might be found in the writings
of Mill, Clifford, Amberley, Arnold, Newman, Conway,
Swinburne, and other works in Mudie's circulating
library, I could scarcely refrain from laughter.

The witnesses for the prosecution were of the
ordinary type — policemen, detectives, and lawyer's
clerks — ^with the exception of Mr. Charles Albert Watts,
who by accident or design found himself in such
questionable company. This young gentleman is the
son of Mr. Charles Watts and printer of the Secular
Meview, and he was called to prove that I was the
editor of the Freethinker. With the most cheerful
alacrity he positively affirmed that I was, although he
had absolutely no more knowledge on the subject — ^as
indeed he admitted on cross-examination — ^than any
other member of the British public. His appearance
in the witness-box is still half a mystery to me and
I can only ask, Q^e le diahle allait-il faire dans ceite
gaUre f

Ultimately the case was remanded till the following
Monday, Mr. Maloney intimating that he should
apply for fresh summonses for other numbers of the
Freethinker^ as well as a summons against Mr. Brad-
laugh for complicity in our crime.

Let me here pause to consider how these prosecutions
for blasphemy are initiated. Under the Newspaper
Libels Act no prosecution for libel can be commenced
against the editor, publisher or proprietor of any news-
paper, without the written fiat of the Public Prosecutor.

32 FBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

This post is occnpied by Sir John Maule, who enjoys a
salary of £2,000 a year, and has the assistance of a well-
appointed office in his strenuons labors. Pu/nch once
pictnred him fast asleep before the fire, with a handker-
chief over his face, while all sorts of nnprosecnted
criminals plied their nefarious trades ; and Mr. Justice
Hawkins (I think) has denounced him as a pre-
tentious farce. He is practically irresponsible, unlike
the Attorney-General, who, being a member of the
Government, is amenable to public opinion. Press
laws, except in cases of personal libel, ought not to be
neglected or enforced at the discretion of such an
official. Every interference with freedom of speech,
whenever it is deemed necessary, should be under-
taken by the Government, or at least have its express
sanction. Nothing of the sort happened in our case.
On the contrary, Sir John Maule allowed our prosecu-
tion after Sir William Harcourt had condemned it. The
Public Prosecutor set himself above the Home Secretary.
Unfortunately the general press saw nothing anoma-
lous or dangerous in such a state of things ; for an
official like Sir John Maule, while ready enough to
sanction the prosecution of an unpopular journal, which
presumably has few friends, is naturally reluctant, as
events have shown, to allow proceedings against a
powerful journal whose friends may be numerous and
influential. Fortunately, however, a Select Committee
of the House of Commons has taken a more sensible
view of the Public Prosecutor and the duties he has so
muddled, and recommended the abolition of his office.
Should this step be taken, his duties will probably be
performed by the Solicitor-General, and the press will
be freed from a danger it had not the sense or the
courage to avert. As for Sir John Maule, he will of
course retire with a big pension, and live in fat ease for
the rest of his sluggish life.

MB. BBADLAUGH INCLUDED. 33

CHAPTER m.

MR. BRADLAUGH INCLUDED.

Mb. Malonet obtained his snmmons against Mr.
Bradlangh, whose name was included in a new docu-
ment which was served on all of us. I have lost our
first summons, but I am able to give a copy of the
second. It ran thus :

" To William James Ramsey, of 28 Stonecutter Street, in the
City of London, and 20 Brownlow Street, Dalston, m the county
of Middlesex ; George William Foote, of 9 South Crescent,
Bedford Square, in the county of Middlesex ; Edward William
Whittle, of 170 Saint John Street, Clerkenwell, in the county of
Middlesex ; and Charles Bradlaugh, of 20 Circus Road, Saint
John's Wood, in the county of Middlesex, and 28 Stonecutter
Street, in the City of London.

" WTiereas you have this day been charged before the under-
signed, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, being one of Her
lyfiijesty's justices of the peace in and for the said City, and the
liberties thereof, by Sir Henry Tyler, of Dashwood House,
9 New Broad Street, in the said City, for that you, in the said
City, unlawfully did publish, or cause and procure to be pub-
lished, certain blasphemous libels in a newspaper called the Free-
thinkeTj dated and published on the days following — that is to say,
on the 26th day of March, 1882, on the 9th, 23rd and 30th days
of April, 1882, and on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days of May,
1882, and on the 11th and 18th days of June, 1882, against the
peace, etc. :

" These are therefore to command you, in Her Majesty's name,
to be and appear before me, on Monday, the 17th day of July,
1882, at eleven of the clock in the forenoon, at the Mansion
House Justice-Room, in the said City, or before such other
justice or justices of the peace for the same City as may then be
there, to answer to the said charge, and to be further dealt with
according to law. Herein fail not.

" Given under my hand and seal, this 12th day of July, in the
year of our Lord 1882, at the Mansion House Justice-Room,
aforesaid.

** WnrrrAKER Ellis, Lord Mayor, London."

On the following Monday, July 17, the junior
Member for Northampton stood beside us in the
Mansion House dock. The court was of course crowded,

o

34 PBISONBR FOR BLASPHEMY.

and a great number of people stood outside waiting for
a chance of admission. The Lord Mayor considerately
allowed us seats on hearing that the case would occupy
a Long time, a piece of attention which he might also
have displayed on the previous Tuesday. It seems ex-
tremely unjust that men who are defending them-
selves, who need all their strength for the task, and
who may after all be innocent, should be obliged to
stand for hours in a crowded court in the dog-days, and
waste half their energies in the perfectly gratuitous
exertion of maintaining their physical equilibrium.

I shall not describe the proceedings before the Lord
Mayor on this occasion. Properly speaking, it was Mr.
Bradlaugh's day, and some time or other its incidents
will be recorded in his biography. Suffice it to say
that he showed his usual legal dexterity, sat on poor
Mr. Maloney, and sadly puzzled the Lord Mayor. I
must, however, refer to one point, as it illustrates the
high Christian morality of our prosecutors. Mr. Maloney
had obtained an illegal order &om the Lord Mayor to
inspect Mr. Bradlaugh*s bank account, and armed with
this order, which, even if it were legal, would not have
extended beyond the limits of the City, this enterprising
barrister had overhauled the books of the St. John's
Wood Branch of the London and South-Westem Bank.
Lord Coleridge's astonishment at this unheard-of pro-
ceeding was only equalled by his trenchant sarcasm on
the Lord Mayor as a legal functionary, and his bitter
cold sneer at Mr. Maloney, who, it further appeared,
had actually played the part of an amateur detective,
by setting street policemen to watch Mr. Bradlaugh's
entries and exits from his publishing office.

On the following Friday, July 21, the hearing of our
case was resumed. We were all committed for trial at
the Old Bailey, with the exception of Mr. Whittle, the
printer, against whom the prosecution was abandoned
on the ground that he had ceased to print the Free-
thinker. This was an unpleasant fact, and alas I it was
only one of a good many I shall have to relate presently.

Before our committal I essayed to read a brief pro-
test against the prosecution^ which I had carefolly
prepared. In defiance of the statute, the Lord Mayor

MB. BRABLAUGH IKCILUDED. 35

refused to hear it. An altercation then ensued, and I
should have insisted on my right unless stopped by
brute force ; but on his lordship promising that a copy
should be attached to the depositions, I yielded in
order to let Mr. Bradlaugh have a full opportunity of
stigmatising Sir Henry Tyler, who had left his ques-
tionable business at Dashwood House during a part of
the day, to gloat over the spectacle of his enemy in a
criminal dock.

Some portions of my half-suppressed protest ought
not to be omitted in this history. After dealing in a
few lines with the origin of the Blasphemy Laws,
censuring the conduct of Sir Henry Tyler, and allud-
ing to Sir. William Harcourt's reply to Mr. Freshfield,
I expressed myself as follows : —

" What, indeed, do the prosecutors hope or expect to gain?
Freethonght is no longer a weak, tentative, apologetic thing ; it
is strong, bold, and aggressive ; and no law could now suppress it
except one of extermination. Every breach made in its ranks
by imprisonment would be instantly fiUed ; and as punishment is
not eternal on this side of death, the imprisoned man would some
day return to his old place, fiercer thaii ever for the fight, and
inflamed with an unappeasable hatred of the religion whose
guardians prefer punishment to persuasion, and supplement the
weakness of argument by the force of brutality.

" Blasphemy is a very general offence if we take even the
lenient definitions of Sir c^mes Stephen in his * Digest of the
Criminal Law.^ All who publicly aavocate the disestablishment
of the Church are guilty under one clause, and half the leading
writers of our age are guilty under another. It is difficult to
find a book by any eminent scientist or thinker which does not
contain open or covert attacks on Christianity and Scripture, and
the Archbishop of Canterbury has pathetically complained that it
is dangerous to introduce high-class magazines to the family circle,
because they are nearly sure to contain a large quantity of
scepticism. Why are these propagators of heresy never molested?
Because it would be perilous to touch them. Prosecutions are
always reserved for those who are unprotected by wealth and
position. Heresy in expensive books for the upper classes is
safe, but heresy in cheap publications for the people incurs a
terrible danger. The one is flattered and conciliated, while the
other is liable at any moment to be put on its defence in a
criminal court, and is always at the mercv of any man who may
chooBe to indulge hia political animosity, his social enmity, or his
private spite.

36 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

<< Blasphemy is entirely a matter of opinion. What is blas-
phemy in one country is piety in another. Progress tends to
reduce it from a crime to an affair of taste. To deal with it in
the bad spirit of the old laws, which are only unrepealed because
they have been treated as obsolete, is to outrage the conscience
of civilisation, and to violate that liberty of the press which
Bentham justly called * t^e foundation of all other liberties.' If
opinions are not forced on people's attention, if they are
expressed in publications which are sold, which can be patronised
or neglected, and which must be deliberately sought before they
can be read; then, unless they contain incitements to crime,
they are entitled to immunity from molestation, and to interfere
with them is the height of gratuitous impertinence.''

In the ordinary course our Indictment would have
been tried at the Old Bailey. The grand jury found a
true bill against us, after being charged by the
Recorder, Sir Thomas Chambers, who addressed them
as fellow Christians, quite forgetful of the fact that
Jews and Deists are eligible as jurymen no less than
orthodox believers. According to the newspapers this
bigot described our blasphemous libels as " shocking,"
and said that " it was impossible for any Christian man
to read them without feeling that they came within
that description, and they ought to return a true bill."
This same Sir Thomas Chambers is a patron of piety,
especially when it takes the form of aggressive polemics.
Some time afterwards he joined a committee, with
the late Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Mayor Fowler, and
other religious worthies, whose object was to raise
a testimonial to Samuel Kinns, an obscure author who
has written a stupid volume on " Moses and Geology "
for the purpose of showing that the book of Genesis,
to use Huxley's expression, contains the beginning and
the end of sound science. It thus appears that a
Christian magistrate may subscribe (or, which is quite
as pious and far more economical, induce others to
subscribe) for the confutation of heretics, and after-
wards send them to gaol for not being confuted. What
a glorious commentary on the great truth that England
is a free country, and that Christianity relies entirely
on the force of persuasion I Fortunately, however, our
case was not tried at the Old Bailey. Mr. Bradlaugh
obtained a writ of certiorari removing the indictment

MB. BRADLAUGH INCLUDED. 37

to the Court of Queen's Bench, where our case was put
in the Crown List, and did not come on for hearing
until two months after I was imprisoned on another
indictment. Mr. Bradlaugh obtained the writ on
July 29, 1882. It was during the long vacation, and
we had to appear before more than one judge in
chambers, Mr. Justice Stephen being the one who
granted the writ. I remember roaming the Law
Courts with Mr. Bradlaugh that morning. We went
from office to office in the most perplexing manner.
Everything seemed designed to baffie suitors who
conduct their own cases. Obsolete technicalities, only
half intelligible even to experts, met one at every
turn, and when I left the Law Courts I felt that the
thing was indeed done, but that it would almost puzzle
omniscience to do it again in exactly the same way.
Over seven pounds was spent in stamps, documents, and
other items ; and I was informed that a solicitor's
charges for the morning's work would have exceeded
thirty pounds. Securities for costs were required to
the extent of six hundred pounds, and of course they
had to be given. Yet we were merely seeking justice
and a fair trial I As I walked home I pondered the
great truth that England is a free country, and that
there is one law for the rich and the poor ; yet I
reflected that as only the rich could afford it, the poor
might as well have no law at all.

I have already referred to our printer's defection.
Acting under advice, Mr. Whittle declined to print the
Comic Bible Sketch in the number for July 16, and the
following week he refused to print at all. He an-
nounced this decision after all the type was set up and
the " formes " were almost ready for the press. Only
forty-eight hours remained before the Freethinker was
due. During that period, in company with my friend
and sub-editor, Mr. J. M. Wheeler, I made desperate
«£Eorts to get a printer to undertake the work. At last
I discovered a Freethinker who placed his inadequate
resources at my disposal. He could only set up four
pages of type, and only print copies with a hand-
press. Even that was better than nothing ; anything
being preferable to lowering the flag in the heat

38 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

of battle. Bnt alas ! fate is stronger than gods or
men. I was foiled at the last moment, just as victory
seemed within my grasp; how I forbear to explain^
although the incidents of that eventf id day wonld form
an interesting chapter of my Autobiography. Enough
copies were pulled to constitute a legal issue of the
paper, and one of these is safely deposited in the
British Museum ; but none were printed for the
market, and it was everywhere reported that the Free--
thinker was dead. Christian Evidence lecturers joyously
announced the fact at their meetings, and Mr. Maloney
ironically alluded to it in Court. I bore all these taunts
with grim silence, which was at last broken, not by
words, but by deeds. These people did not know that
the Freethinker^ like the founder of their faith, had dis-
appeared one week only to reappear the next. With
the aid of Mr. Ramsey, who again stood by our side,
we succeeded in restoring our paper to the light of day.
Type was purchased, compositors were engaged, and a
little shop was taken in Harp Alley. The Freethinker
for July 30 struck astonishment into the souls of those
who had rejoiced over its death when they saw no
Freethinker for July 23. From that moment our issue
was never once suspended, although we had some
desperate close shaves.

In the number for August 6, as I could not get our
machiner to print any Comic Bible Sketches just then,
I published a serious one, reproduced from an old Dutch
Bible of 1669. It represented Moses obtaining a pano-
ramic view of Jehovah's back parts. Below tibe text I
inserted the following notice : " As the bigots object
to our Comic Bible Sketches, we shall publish a few
Serious Bible Sketches, copied accurately from old
Bibles of the ages of faiUi, to show what the Christians
have done themselves in the way of familiar interpre-
tation. We hope the bigots will like the change." By
the next week, however, I had overcome our machiner's
scruples, and the Comic Bible Sketches were resumed
and continued up to the day of my imprisonment.

My attitude towards the prosecution is amply ex-
pressed by these facts, but a few words from my pen
at that time may not be altogether superfluous. In an

MK. BBADLAUGH IKOLUDED. 39

article entitled " Crucify Him 1 " in the Freethinker of
August 6, 1882, 1 wrote :

"We are charged with blasphemy, and so was Jesus Christ
What a grim joke it will be if the FreetMnher is found guilty and
punished for the same crime as the preacher of the Sermon on
the Mount ! Truly adversity makes us acquainted with strange
bedfellows.

" Yet, whatever happens, we will not quail. We will not vapor
about legions of angds, but trust in the living legions of Free-
thought. We will not yield to the weakness of an agony and bloody
sweat, nor pray that the cup may pass from us, nor cry out that we
are forsaken ; for our sources of strength are all within us, and can-
not be taken away. We have a sense of truth, a conviction of right,
and a spirit of courage, caught from Hhe gallant men who fought
before. Let the bigots do their worst ; the v will not break our
spirit nor extinguish our cause. Let the Christian mob clamor
as loudly as they can, * Crucify him, crucify him ! ' They will
not daunt us. We look with prophetic eyes over all the tumult,
and see in the distance the radiant form of Liberty, bearing in
her left hand the olive branch and in her right hand the sword,
the holy victress, destined by treaty or conquest to bring the
whole world under her sway. And across all the din we hear
her great rich voice, banishuig despair, inspiring hope, and in-
fusing a joyous ardor in every nerve."

From the first I was sure that the Freethought party-
would support those who were fighting its battle, and
I was not deceived. The Freethiiiker Defence Fund was
liberally subscribed to throughout the country, several
working men putting by a few pence every week for
the purpose ; and as I travelled up and down on my
lecturing tours I experienced everywhere the heartiest
greetings. I saw that the party's blood was up, and
that however it might ultimately fare with me, the
battle would be fought to the bitter end.

Considerable controversy took place in the daily and
weekly press. Professor W. A. Hunter contributed a
timely letter to the Daily News^ in which he described
the Blasphemy Laws as " a weapon always ready to the
hand of mischievous fools or designing knaves." Mr.
G. J. Holyoake wrote in his usual vein of covert attack
on Freethinkers in danger. Mrs. Besant joined in the
fray anonymously, and a letter appeared fldso from my
own pen. There were articles on the subject in the
provincial newspapers, and amongst the London

40 PBISONBR FOE BLASPHEMY.

jonmalslmnstespecially commend the Weekly Dispatch^
which never wavered in faithfulness to its Liberal
traditions, and stood firm in its censure of our prosecu-
tion from first to last, even when other journals turned
from the path of reli^ous liberty, proved traitors to
their principles, and joined the bigots in their cry
of " To prison, to prison ! " against the obnoxious
heretics.

For some time after this we pursued the even tenor
of our way. Many of the wholesale newsagents, who
had been frightened when our prosecution was initiated,
regained confidence and resumed their orders. Early
in October we removed from Harp Alley to 28 Stone-
cutter Street, which had just been vacated by the Free-
thought Publishing Company, and which has ever since
been the publishing office of the Freethinker, About
the same time I issued a pamphlet entitled " Blasphemy
no Crime," a copy of which was sent to every news-
paper in the United Kingdom. It traversed the whole
field of discussion, and gave a brief history of past
prosecutions for Blasphemy, as well as the principal
facts of our own case. In November I announced the
preparation of the second Christmas Number of the
Freethinker^ the publication for which I paid the
penalty of twelve months^ imprisonment. Before, how-
ever, I deal fully with that awful subject I will redeem
my promise to inform my readers of the nature of our
indictment, and what were the actual charges pre-
ferred against us by Sir Henry Tyler on behalf of the
insulted universe.

CHAPTER IV.

OTJR INDICTMENT.

Our Indictment covered twenty-eight large folios, and
contained sixteen Counts. Of course we had to pay
!or a copy of it ; for although a criminal is supposed to

OX7B INDIGTMENT. 41

enjoy the utmost fair play, and according to legal
theory is entitled to every advantage in his defence,
as a matter of fact, unless he is able to afford the cost
of a copy, he has no right to know the contents of his
Indictment until he stands in the dock to plead to it. '

It was evidently drawn up by someone grossly
ignorant of the Bible. The Apocalypse was described
as the " Book of Revelations," and the Gadarean swine
came out as Gadderean. Probably Sir Henry Tyler
and Sir Hardinge Giffard knew as much of the
Scriptures they strove to imprison us for disputing as
the person who drew up our Indictment. Mr. Cluer
caused some amusement in the Court of Queen's Bench
"when, in the gravest manner, he drew attention to these
errors. Lord Coleridge as gravely replied that he could
not take judicial cognisance of them. Whereupon Mr.
Cluer quietly observed that he was ready to produce
the authorised version of the Bible in court in a few
minutes, as he had a copy in his chambers. This
remark elicited a smile from. Lord Coleridge, a broad
grin from the lawyers in Court, and a titter from the
crowd. It was perfectly understood that a gentleman
of the long robe might prosecute anybody for blas-
phemy against the Bible and its Deity, but the idea of
a barrister having a copy of the " sacred volume " in
his chambers was really too absurd for belief.

The preamble charged us, in the stock language of
Indictments for Blasphemy, as may be seen on
reference to Archibold, with " being wicked and evil-
disposed persons, and disregarding the laws and
religion of the realm, and wickedly and profanely
devising and intending to asperse and vilify Almighty
God, and to bring the Holy Scriptures and the Chris-
tian Religion into disbelief and contempt."

The first observation I have to make on this wordy
jumble is, that it seems highly presumptuous on the
part of weak men to defend the character of " Almighty
God." Surely they might leave him to protect himself.
Omnipotence is aftfe to punish those who offend it, and
Omniscience knows when to punish. Man's interference
is grossly impertinent. When the emperor Tiberius
was asked by an informer to allow proceedings against

42 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

one who had " blasphemed the gods," he replied : " No^
let the gods defend their own honor." Christian
mlers have not yet reached that level of justice and
common sense.

Next, it was flagrantly nnjnst to accuse ns of
aspersing and vilifying Almighty God at all. The
Freethinker had simply assailed ttie reputation of the
god of the Bible, a tribal deity of the Jews, subsequently
adopted by the Christians, whom James Mill had
described as " the most perfect conception of wicked-
ness which the human mind can devise." What
difference, I ask, is there between that strong descrip-
tion and the sentence quoted from the Freethinker in
our Indictment, which declared the same being as <^ cruel
as a Bashi-Bazouk and bloodthirsty as a Bengal tiger" ?
The one is an abstract and the other a concrete ex-
pression of the same view ; the one is philosophical
and the other popular ; the one is a cold statement
and the other a burning metaphor. To allow the one
to circulate with impunity, and to punish the other
with twelve months* imprisonment, is to turn a literary
difference into a criminal offence.

Further, as Sir James Stephen has observed, it is
absurd to talk about bringing " the Holy Scriptures and
the Christian religion into disbelief and contempt."
One of these words is clearly superfluous. Consider-
ing the extraordinary pretensions of the Bible and
Christianity, it is difficult to see how they could be
brought into contempt more effectually than by bring-
them into disbelief.

But greater absurdities remain. Our Indictment
averred that we had published certain Blasphemous
Libels "to the great displeasure of Almighty God, to
the scandal of the Christian religion and the Holy
Bible or Scriptures, and against the peace of our Lady
the Queen, her crown and dignity." Let us analyse
this legal jargon.

How did our prosecutors learn that we displeased
Almighty God ? In what manner did Sir Henry Tyler
first become aware of the fact ? Was it, in the ancient
fashion, revealed to him in a dream, or did it come by
direct inspiration ? What was the exact language of

OtJB INDICTMENT. 43

the aggrieved Deity ? Did he give Sir Henry Tyler a
power of attorney to defend his character by instituting
a prosecution for libel ? If so, where is the document,
and who will prove the signature ? And did the
original party to the suit intimate his readiness to be
subpoenaed as a witness at the trial ? All these are
very important questions, but there is no likelihood of
their ever being answered.

" The scandal of the Christian Religion " is an im-
pertinent joke. Christianity, as Lord Coleridge re-
marked, is no longer, as the old judges used to rule,
part and parcel of the law of England. I argued the
matter at considerable length in addressing the jury,
and his lordship supported my contention with all the
force of his high authority. After pointing out that at
one time Jews, Roman Catholics, and Nonconformists
of all sorts — in fact every sect outside the State Church
— ^were under heavy disabilities for religion and re-
garded as hardly having civil rights, and that un-
doubtedly at that time the doctrines of the Established
religion were part and parcel of the law of the land,
Lord Coleridge observed, as I had done, that " Parlia-
ment, which is supreme and binds us all, has enacted
statutes which make that view of the law no longer
applicable.^' I had also pointed out that there might
be a Jew on the jury. His lordship went further, and
remarked that there might be a Jew on the bench.
His words were these :

" Now, so far as I know, a Jew might be Lord Chancellor ;
most certainly he might be Master of Ihe Rolls. The great and
illustrious lawyer [Sir George Jessel] whose loss the whole
profession is deploring, and in whom his friends know that they
lost a warm friend and a loyal colleague ; he, but for the accident
of taking his of&ce before tbe Judicature Act came into opera-
tion, might have had to go circuit, might have sat in a criminal
court to try such a case as this, might have been called upon, if
the law really be that * Christianity is part of the law of the land '
in the sense contended for, to iay it down as law to a jury,
amongst whom might have been Jews, — that it was an offence
against the law, as blasphemy, to deny that Jesus Christ was the
Messiah, a thing which he himself <ud deny, which Parliament
had allowed him to deny, and which it is just as much part of the
law that anyone may deny, as it is your right and mine, if we
believe it, to assert"

44 PRISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

Clearly then, according to the dictum of the Lord
Chief Justice, it is not a crime to publish anything ^* to
the scandal of the Christian Religion," although it
was alleged against us as such in our Indictment.

The only real point that can be discussed and tested
is in the last clause. I do not refer to the Queen's
" crown and dignity," which we were accused of en-
dangering ; for our offence could not possibly be
construed as a political one, and it is hard to perceive
how the' Queen's dignity could be imperilled by the
act of any person except herself. What I refer to is the
statement that we had provoked a disturbance of the
peace ; a more hypocritical pretence than which was
never advanced. I venture to quote here a passage
from my address to the jury on my third trial before
Lord Coleridge : —

** A word, gentlemen, about breach of the peace. Mr. Justice
Stephen said well, that no temporal punishment should be inflicted
for blasphemy imless it led to a breach of the peace. I have no
objection to that, provided we are indicted for a breach of
the peace. Very little breach of the peace might make a good
case of blasphemy. A breach of the peace in a case like this
must not be constructiye ; it must be actual They might have
put somebody in the witness-box who would have said that
reading the Freethinker had impaired his digestion and disturbed
his sleep. They might have even found somebody who said it
was thrust upon him, and that he was induced to read it, not
knowing its character^ Gentlemen, they have not attempted to
prove that any special publicity was given to it outside the circle
of the people who approved it They have not even shown
there was an advertisement of it in any Christian or religious
paper. They have not even told you that any extravagant dis-
play was made of it ; and I undertake to say that you might
never have known of it if the prosecution had not advertised it.
How can all this be construed as a breach of the peace ? Our
Indictment says we have done all this, to the great displeasure
of Almighty God, and to the danger of our Lady the Queen, her
crown and dignity. Tou must bear that in mind. The law-books
say again and again that a blasphemous libel is punished, not
because it throws obloquy on the deity — ^the protection of whom
would be absurd — but because it tends to a breach of the peace.
It is preposterous to say such a thing tends to a breach of the
peace. If you want that you must go to the Salvation Army.
They have a perfect right to their ideas—I have nothing to say
about them ; but their policy has led to actual breaches of the

OX7B INDIOTMENT. 45

peace ; and even in India, where, according to the law, no prose-
cution could be started against a paper like the FreMinher^
many are sent to gaol because they will insist upon processions
in the street We have not caused tumult in the streets. We
have not sent out men with banners and bands in which eacft
musician plays more or less his own tune. We have not sent
out men who make hideous discord, and commit a common
nuisance. Nothing of the sort is alleged. A paper like this had
to be bought and our utterances had to be sought We have
not done anything against the peace. I giye the Indictment an
absolute denial To talk of danger to the peace is only a mask
to hide the hideous and repulsive features of intolerance and
persecution. They don^t want to punish us because we have
assailed religion, but because we haye endangered the peace.
Take them at their word, gentlemen. Punish us if we have
endangered the peace, and not if we have assailed religion ; and
as you know we have not endangered the peace, you mil of
course bring in a verdict of Not Guilty. Gentlemen, I hope you
will by your verdict to-dav champion that great law of liberty
which is challenged — the law of liberty which implies the equal
right of every man, while he does not trench upon the equal
right of every other man, to print what he pleases for people
who choose to buy and read it, so long as he does not libel men*8
characters or incite people to the commission of crime."

Appealing now to a far larger jury in the high court
of public opinion, I ask whether Freethinkers are not
one of the most orderly sections of the community.
Why should we resort to violence, or invoke it, or even
countenance it, when our cardinal principle is the
sovereignty of reason, and our hope of progress lies
in the free play of mind on every subject? We are
perhaps more profoundly impressed than others with
the idea that all institutions are the outward expression
of inward thoughts and feelings, and that it is impossible
to forestall the advance of public sentiment by the
most cunningly-devised machinery. We are par ex-
cellence the party of order, though not of stagnation.
It is a striking and pregnant fact that Freethought
meetings are kept peaceful and orderly without any
protection by the police. At St. James's Hall, London,
the only demonstrations, I believe, for which the
services of a certain number of policemen are not
charged for in l^e bill with the rent, are those convened
by Mr. Bradlaugh and his friends.

46 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

Lord Coleridge, ostensibly bnt not actually following
Michaelis, raised the subtle aignment that as people's
feelings are very tender on the subject of religion, and
|he populace is apt to take the law into its own hands
when there is no legal method of expressing its anger
and indignation, " some sort of blasphemy laws reason-
ably enforced may be an advantage even to those who
differ from the popular religion of a country, and who
desire to oppose and to deny it." But this is an in-
version of the natural order of things. What reason is
there in imprisoning an innocent man because some
one meditates an assault upon him ? Would it not be
wiser and juster to restrain the intending criminal, as
is ordinarily done ? I object to being punished because
others cannot keep their tempers ; and I say further,
that to punish a man, not because he has injured others,
but for his own good, is the worst form of persecution.
During the many years of my public advocacy of
Freethought in all parts of Great Britain, both before
and since my imprisonment, I have never been in a
moment's danger of violence and outrage. I never
witnessed any irritation which could not be allayed by
a persuasive word, or any disturbance that could not
be quelled by a witticism. With all deference to Lord
Coleridge, whom no one admires and respects more
than I do, I would rather the law left me to my own
resources, and only interfered to protect me when I
need its assistance.

Now for the counts of our Indictment. There is
danger in writing about them, as it is held that the
publication of matter found blasphemous by a jury,
except in a legal report for the profession, is itself
blasphemy, and may be punished as such. I am not,
however, likely to be deterred from my purpose by
this consideration. On the other hand, as the incrimi-
nated passages were all carefully selected from many
numbers of a journal never remarkable for its tender
treatment of orthodoxy, I do not see any particular
advantage to be derived from their republication.
They are, of course, far more calculated to shock
religious susceptibilities (if these are to be
considered) when they are picked out and ranked

OUR INDICTMENT. 47

together than when they stand amid their context in
their original places. Such a process of selection would
be exceedingly hard on any paper or book handling very
advanced ideas, and very backward ones, in a spirit of
^eat freedom. Nay, it would prove a severe trial to
most works of real value, whose scope extended beyond
the respectabilities. Not to mention Byron's caustic
remarks on the peculiar expurgation of Martial in Don
Juan's edition, it is obvious that the Bible and Shake-
speare could both be proved obscene by this process ;
and setting aside ancient literature altogether, half our
own classics, before the age of Wordsworth and Scott,
would come under the same condemnation. I know I
am intruding among my betters ; but I do not claim
equality with them ; I merely ask the same liberal
judgment. A man is no more to be judged by a few
casual sentences from his pen, without any reference
to all the rest, than he is to be judged by a few casual
expressions he may let fall in a year's conversation.

Curiously, in all those twenty-eight folios of blas-
phemy, only three sentences were from my own pen,
And two of them were extracted from long articles.
One was a jocose reference to the Jewish tribal god,
who, as Keunen allows, was carried about, probably as
a stone fetish, in that wooden box known as the ^^ ark
of the covenant." Another occurred in a long review
of Jules Soury's remarkable book on the subject of
Jesus Christ's hallucinations and eccentricities, in which
he endeavors to show that the Prophet of Nazareth
passed through certain recognised stages of brain
disease. Referring to the close of his career, I wrote
that, "When Jesus made his triumphant entry into
Jerusalem he was plainly crazed." That one sentence
was picked out from a long review, running through
three numbers of the FreethinkeVy and filling six
columns of print. The third sentence was a
satirical comment on the sensational and blasphe-
mous title of Dr. Parker's book on " The Inner Life
of Christ." I asked, " How did he contrive to get in-
side his maker ?" There was a fourth sentence I wrote
for the Freethinker^ but as it was a verbatim report of
£ome Bedlamite observations of a Salvationist at Halifax,

48 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

published, as I said, *^ to show what is being done and
said in the name of Christianity," I decline to be held
responsible for it. Let General Booth be answerable
for the blasphemies of his own followers.

All the other passages in the Indictment were from
the pens of contributors, over whom, as they signed
their articles, I never held a tight rein. They were
mostly amplifications of the sentence I have sdready
quoted about the cruel character of the Bible God. I
did not, however, dwell on this fact in my address to-
the jury. I took the full responsibility, and fought my
contributors' battle as well my own. I bore their
iniquities, the chastisement of their peace was upon me,,
and by my stripes they were healed.

Four of the Comic Bible Sketches were included in
the Indictment. They appeared in the Freethinker on
the following dates : — January 29, April 23, May 28,
and June 11 (1882). Readers who care to see what
they were like can refer to the file in the British
Museum. Those illustrations have not been declared
blasphemous, for when the Indictment I have been ex-
plaining was tried before Lord Coleridge, the jury, after
several hours' deliberation, could not agree to a verdict
of Guilty.

The Lidictment on which I was found guilty, and
sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, was a later
one. It was based on the Christmas Number, 1882, to
which I previously referred. Let me now give a brief
history of my second prosecution.

CHAPTER V.

ANOTHER PROSECUTION.

Ik the month of November (1882) I announced my
intention to bring out a new monthly magazine entitled
Progress. Several friends thought it impolitic to
launch my new venture in such troubled waters, and

ANOTHBR PBOSBOUTION. 49

advised me to wait for the issue of the prosecution.
But I resolved to act exactly as though, the prosecution
had never been initiated, It seemed to me the wisest
course to go on with my work until I was stopped, and
risk the consequences whatever they might be. The
result has proved that I was right ; but I do not wish to
boastof my judgment, for when I was imprisoned all my
interests were fearfully imperilled, and everything
depended on the loyal exertions of a few staunch Free-
thinkers (of whom more anon) who stepped into the
breach and defended them with great courage and
ability until I was able to resume my post. Progress
made its due appearance in January, 1883, and, not-
withstanding the extraordinary vicissitudes of its career,
it has flourished ever since without any solution of con-
tinuity.

While I was advertising Progress I was also preparing
the second Christmas Number of the Freethinker, The
announcement of its contents caused a great deal of
excitement, and I am prepared to admit that it was, to
use a common phrase, the " warmest " publication ever
issued. It was full from cover to cover of what the
orthodox call blasphemy, and it was speedily described
by the Chrisiian press as more " outrageous " than any
of the ordinary numbers for which we were already
prosecuted. The description was perfectly correct. I
had concluded that my wisest policy, as it was certainly
the most courageous, was to disregard the Blasphemy
Laws and defy the bigots ; to show that Freethought
was not to be cowed or intimidated by threats of im-
prisonment. Facing the enemy boldly appeared to me
better than running away ; a course in which I could
see neither glory, honor, nor profit. Even if I had
consulted my safety above all things, I should have seen
little wisdom in flight ; and being shot in the back,
while no less dangerous, is far more ignominious than
being shot in the front. I have paid the full penalty
of my policy ; I have sufiEered twelve months' torture in
a Christian gaol ; yet I do not repent the course I took ;
and ever since my release from prison I have felt it my
duty to continue doing the very thing for which I was
punished.

50 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

Being tastefully got-np, well printed, profusely illus-
trated, and extensively denounced by the organs of
Toryism and piety, this Christmas Number had a very
large sale. Yet, strange as it may sound to some bigoted
ears, Mr. Ramsey and I were after all several pounds
out of pocket by it, the expenses being altogether out
of proportion to the price, and our object being less
material gain than the wide dissemination of our views.
With the knowledge of this pecuniary loss in our minds,
it may be imagined how grimly we smiled when the
counsel sternly alluded to our "nefarious profits."

I shall have occasion to deal with the contents of this
Christmas Number when I explain our second Indict-
ment ; which, I repeat, as there is general misunder-
standing on the subject, was tried before the first, and
resulted in Judge North's atrocious and almost un-
paralleled sentence.

During the interval between the publication of this
" budget of blasphemy " and the date of our summons
to answer a criminal charge founded on it, I had several
interviews with Mr. E. Truelove, a gentleman well
known to all advanced people in London as a veteran
champion of the freedom as the press. At the age of
seventy, after a long life sans pear et sans reprochey
this fine old reformer was dragged by the paid Secretary
of the Society for the Suppression of Vice (or the Vice
Society as Cobbett always called it) into a criminal
court to answer a charge of obscenity. The objection-
able matter was contained in an extremely mild, not to
say mawkish, essay on the population question by
Robert Dale Owen, a man of literary eminence in the
United States, and once an ambassador of the great
Republic. Like ourselves, Mr. Truelove was tried
twice before a verdict of guilty could be obtained.
His sentence was four months' imprisonment like a
common felon. Mr. Truelove was indisposed to reveal
the secrets of his prison-house out of a tender regard
for my feelings, but seeing that I preferred to Imow
the worst, he told me all about the felon's cell, the
plank bed, the oakum picking, the wretched diet, and
the horribly monotonous life. My chief feeling on
hearing this sad tale was one of indignation at the

ANOTHEB FBOSEOUTION. 5l

thonght that a man of honest convictions and blameless
life should be subjected to such privations and indigni-
ties. It did not weaken my resolution ; it only deepened
my hatred of the system which sanctioned such
iniquities.

SVom America, however, came a piece of bitter-sweet
news. Mr. D. M. Bennett, editor of the New York
Trufhseeker^ had just died. His end was hastened by
the heart-disease he contracted while undergoing im-
prisonment for an "offence " similar to that of Mr.
Truelove. Yet almost at the moment of Mr. Bennett's
death, another jury had found another publisher of the
very same work Not Guilty. I learned from the New
York papers that the acquittal was partly due to the
impartiality of the judge, partly to the progress the
public mind had made on the population question, and
partly to the fact that the accused publisher conducted
his own defence. Here was a gleam of hope. I also
might meet with an impartial judge, I also might find
a jury reflecting an enlightened public opinion, and I
also was resolved to defend myself. Alas I I did not
know that I was to meet with the most bigoted judge
on the bench, and to plead to a jury exactly calculated
to effect his vindictive purpose.

On Thursday, December 7, 188?, we published our
second Christmas Number of the Freethinker, I will
deal with its contents presently, when I have narrated
how it led to our second prosecution. Let it here suffice
to say that it was undoubtedly a very " warm " publi-
dation, and well calculated to arouse the slumbering
Blasphemy Laws. Some Freethinkers even were
astonished at its audacity. A few belonging to an old-
fashioned school, and a few more who were assiduously
courting " respectability," resented our action ; although,
as the vast majority of our party were of an opposite
opinion, they refrained from expressing their reproba-
tion too loudly. In reply to their murmurs I wrote an
article in my paper on " Superstitious Freethinkers."
It appeared in the number for December 31, and thus
appropriately closed a year of combat. A few passages
are, perhaps, worth insertion here.

** It has been said of Bobert Buins that, although his head and

52 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

heart rejected Calvinism, he never quite got it out of his blood.
There is much truth in this metaphor. Bums was, in religious
matters, one of a verv large class. Many men rid their intellects
of a superstition, without being able to resist its power over
their feelmgs. Even so profound a sceptic as R^nan has admitted
that lus life is guided by a faith he no longer jjpossesses. And
we are all fammar with instances of the same thing. . . "

" Reverting to avowed Freethinkers, it ier evident that some of
them who have lost belief in Grod are afraid to speak too loud
lest he ^ould overhear them. <How old are you, Monsieur
Fontenelle ?* asked a pretty young French lady. * Hush, not so
loud, dear Madame !* replied the witty nonagenarian, pouiting up-
wards. What Fontenelle did as a piece of graceful wit, some
Freethinkers do without any wit at sJL They object to laughing
at the gods, whether Christian, Brahmanic or Mohanmiedan;
and perhaps they would extend l^e same friendly consideration
to Mumbo Jumbo. Strange that people should be so tender
about ghosts ! Especially when they don't even believe them to
be refd ghosts. To the Atheist all gods are fancies, mere
delusions (not tUusions), like the philospher^s stone, witchcraft,
astrology, holy water and miracles. I am as much entitled to
ridicule the gods of Christianity as any other Freethinker is
entitled to ri£cule the miracles at Lourdes ; and when < taste ' is
dragged into the question, I simply reply that there is as much
ill taste in the one case as in the other. All that this * taste ^ can
mean is that no devout delusion should be ridiculed, which is
itseU one of the greatest pieces of absurdity ever perpetrated.
It would shield every form of ' spiritual ' lunacy in the world.

** These squeamish Freethinkers don't object to ridicule in
politics, literature or social life. They rather approve Punch and
the other comic journals, even when these satirise living persons
who feel the sting. Why, then, do they object to ridicule in
religion ? Simply because they still feel that there is something
sacred about it. Now I insist that on the Atheist^s principles
there can be no such sacredness. and I decline to recognise it. I
take the full consequences and claim the full liberty of my
belief.

" Christians may, of course, urge that their feelings on such a
subject as religion are sacred^ and a few superstitious Free-
thinkers may concede this monstrous position. I do not. The
feelings of a Christian about Father, Son and Holy Ghost, are no
more sacred than my feelings on any other subject I have no
quarrel with persons, and I recognise how many are hurt by
satire. But the world is not to be regulated by their feelings,
and much as I respect them, I have a greater respect for trutL
Every mental weapon is valid against mental error. And as
ridicule has been found the most potent weapon of religious en-
--anchiBement, we are bound to use it ag^dnst the wretched

ANOVHEB PBOSEOUXION, 53

superstitions which cnmber the jHith of proaress. Intellectiially,
it IS as absurd to give quarter as it is absurd to expect it

**My answer to the Freethinkers who would coquet with
Christianity, and gain a fictitious respectability by courting com-
pHments from Christian teachers, is that they are playing with
nra Let them ponder the lessons of history, and remember
Clifford's bitter word about the evil superstition which destaroyad
one civilisation and nearly succeeded in destroying another.
Fortunately, however, the logic of things is against them. Broad
•currents of thought g[0 on their way without being deflected
l>y backwashes, or eddies or spurts into blind passages. Free-
thought win sweep on with its main volume, and £sh against
•every impediment with all its effective force."

Well, I exercised " the full liberty of my belief," and
I had to take its *^ full conseqneiices." Yet, looking
back over my year's torture in a Christian gaol, my
•conBcience approves that dangerous policy, and I do
not experience a single regret.

In the same numb&r of the Freethinker I referred at
some length to Tyler's prosecution, which was dragging
:along its slow course in a way that must have been very
provoking to Mr. Bradlaugh's enemies. By dexterous
manoeuvring and skilful pleading, that litigious man,
as the Tories call him, had managed to get two counts
struck out of our Indictment. The result of this to
Mr. Ramsey and myself was m7, but it brought great
relief to Mr. Bradlaugh, and made his acquittal almost
a matter of certainty.

Meanwhile our Christmas Number was selling
rapidly. In a few weeks it had reached a far larger
circulation than had been enjoyed by any Freethought
publication before. Naturally the bigots were enraged,
both by its character and its success. Many religious
Journals, and especially the Rock, clamored for legal
protection against such '< blasphemy." Irate Christians
^sailed at our shop in Stonecutter Street, purchased
copies of the obnoxious paper, and, flourishing
them in the faces of Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Kemp, diB-
dared that we should "hear more of this ;" to which
pious salutation t&ey usually replied by offering their
nainatory visitors " a dozen or perhaps a quire at trade
price," Similar busybodies called at Mr. Cattell's shop
m Fleet Street, and plied him with cajoleries w^

54 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEKY.

menaces were fntile. One of them, indeed, attempted
bribery. He offered Mr. Cattell half a sovereign to
remove our Christmas Number from his window.
What a wonderful bigot I That detestable fraternity
has nearly always persecuted heresy at other people^s
expense, but this man was willing to tax himself for
that laudable object. Surely he is phenomenal enough
to deserve a memorial in Westminster Abbey, or at
least an ef&gy at Madame Tussaud's.

Presently our shop was visited by another class of
men — plain-clothes detectives. They came in couples,
and it was easy to understand their business. We
were, therefore, not surprised when, on January 29,
1883, we were severally served with the following
summons : —

" To George William Foote, of No. 9 South Crescent, Bed-
ford Square, Middlesex ; William James Ramsey, of No-
28 Stonecutter Street, in the City of London, and No. 20
Brownlow Street, Dalston, Middlesex ; and Henst Arthur
Kemp, of No. 28 Stonecutter Street, aforesaid, and No. 15
Harp Alley, Famngdon Street, London, £.C.
Whereas you have this day been charged before the under-
signed, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, being one of her
jy&jesty's Justices of the Peace in and for the said City and the-
Liberties thereof, by James Macdonald, of No. 7 Burton Boad,
Brixton, in the county of Surrey, for that you did in the said
City of London, on the 16th day December, in the year of Our
Lord, 1882, and on divers other days, print and publish, and
cause and procure to be printed and published, a certain
blasphemous and impious libel in the Christmas Number for
1882 of a certain newspaper called the Freethinker^ against the
peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and Dignity. These
are therefore to command you, in her Majesty's name, to be and
appear before me on Friday, the second day of February, 1883^
at eleven of the clock in the forenoon, at the Mansion House
Justice Boom, in the said City, or before such other Justice or
Justices of the Peace for the same City as may then be there, to
answer to the said charge, and to be further dealt with according
to law. Herein fail not. Given under my hand and seal, this
29th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, 1883, at the Man-
sion House Justice-Boom aforesaid.

" Henrt E. Knight,

"Lord Mayor, London.*"

The James Macdonald of this BammonSy who played
the part of a common informer, tnmed out to be &

ANOTHER PROSECUTION. 55

police officer. In the ordinary way of business he went
to the Lord Mayor, complained of our blasphemy and
his own lacerated feelings, and applied for a summons
against us as a first step towards punishing us for our
sins. What a reductio ad ahsvnrdtmi of the Blasphemy
Laws ! Instead of ordinary Christians protesting
against our outrages, and demanding our restraint in
the interest of the peace, a callous policeman has to do
the work, without a scintilla of feeling about the
matter, just as he might proceed against any ordinary
criminal for theft or assault. The real mover in this
business was Sir Thomas Nelson, the City Solicitor,
representing the richest and corruptest Corporation in
the world.

The Corporation of the City of London might be
described in the language which Jesus applied to the
Town Council of Jerusalem eighteen centuries ago—
" They devour widow's houses, and for a pretence make
long prayers." What could be more hypocritical than
such a body posing as the champions of religion, and
especially of the religion of Christ ! If the Prophet
of Nazareth were alive again to-day, who would expect
to find him at a Lord Mayor's banquet ? Would he
frequent the Stock Exchange, be at home in the Guild-
hall and the Mansion House, or select his disciples
from the worshippers in the myriad temples of Mam-
mon ? Would he not rather hate and denounce these
modern Pharisees as cordially as they would certainly
hate and denounce him.

If the City Fathers meant to protect the honor of
God, they were both absurd and blasphemous. There
is something ineffably ludicrous in the spectacle oi a
host of fat aldermen rushing out from their shops and
offices to steady the tottering throne of Omnipotence.
And what presumption on the part of these pigmies to
to undertake a defence of deity ! Surely Omnipotence
is as dbU to punish as Omniscience knows when to
punish. The theologians who, as Matthew Arnold
says, talk familiarly of God, as though he were a man
living in the next street, are modest in comparison with
his self -elected body-guard.

Would it not be better for these presumptuous

56 FSISONEB TOn BLASPHEMY.

mortals to mind their own bttsiness ? It will be time
enough for them to supervise their neighbors when
they have reformed themselves. With all their pre*-
tensions to superior piety and virtue, they are noto-
riously the greatest ring of public thieves in the world,
and they are at present lavishly expending trust-
monies in a desperate endeavor to justify their turpi-
tude and prolong their plunder.

According to our summons, Mr. Ramsey, Mr. Eemp,
and I appeared at the Mansion House on Friday,
February 2, 1883. The Justice Room w^s thronged
long before the Lord Mayor took his seat on the Bench,
and all the approaches were crowded by anxious
sympathisers. AH the evidence was of a purely formal
character. It was a foregone conclusion that we should
be committed for trial. We all three pleaded not
guilty and reserved our defence. Before leaving the
Court, however, notwithstanding his lordship's inter-
ruption, I protested against the revival of an old law
which had fallen into desuetude, which had not been
enforced in the City of London for over fifty years, and
which was altogether alien to the spirit of the age. My
remarks were greeted with loud applause by the public
in Court. Of course his lordship frowned, and the
ushers shouted "Silence!" But the mischief was
done. It was obvious that we had many friends,
that we were not going to be tried in a hole-and-
corner fashion.

Our case excited much interest in London. Most of
the newspapers contained a good report of the pro-
ceedings at the Mansion House ; and even the Tory
Evening News, which affirmed that we were three
vulgar blasphemers undeserving of notice, had as the
leading line on its placard " Prosecution of the Free*
thmker : Result I ''

The Freethinker for February 11 contained an
article from my pen on the ** Infidel Hunt," and a very
admirable article by Mr. Wheeler on " The Fight of
Forty Years Ago," narrating the trials of Sou&well,
Holyoake, P&terson, and other brave heretics. Mr.
Ramsey did not then quite approve my attitude of
defiance, although he has changed his mind since. He

AKOTHEE PBOSEGTTTIOir. 57

Uioiiglit it more pnident to bend a little before the
stonsxy instead of daring its tvtmost riolence. He waa
also anxionB to please those with whom he had worked
before his partial alliance with me, and who were not
prepared to sanction his continued connexion with the
JFreethmker if he wished to remain with them. For
these reasons he retired from our partnership, and I
was at once registered as the sole proprietor of the
paper. This step naturally added to the danger of my
situation, and it was freely used against me at the trial.
But I had no alternative, unless the Freethinker was to
go down, and that I had resolved to prevent at any
cost. At the same time I engaged to take over Mr.
Bamsey^s business at Stonecutter Street, and to recoup
him for his heavy investment ; and I am bound to
admit that he behaved generously in all these arrange-
ments. On February 11 the following editorial notice
appeared in my paper :

" With this number of the FreefhinTcer I assmne a new position.
The full responsibility for everything in connexion with the
paper henceforth rests with me. I am editor, proprietor, printer
and publisher. My imprint will be put on every publication
issued from 28 Stonecutter Street, and all the busLness done
there will be transacted through me or my representatives. This
exposes me to fresh perils, but it simplifies matters. Those who
attack the Freethinker after this week will have to attack me
singly. I never meant to give in, and never will so loi^ as my
strei^h serves for the fight. Whoever else yields, I wiU submit
to nothing but physical compulsion. If the Freethinker should
ever cease to appear, the Freethouffht party wiU know that the
fault is not mine. Certain parts of the mechanical process of
production are dependent on the firmness of others. One man
caimot do everything. But I pledge myself to keep this Free-
thoufi^ht flag flying at every ha^d, and if I am temporarily dis-
abled 1 pledge myself to unfurl it again, and if need be again, and
gain. De Vauchce, et encore de rau<kice, et toujours de Vaudace,^

Mr. Wheeler stood loyally by me in this emergency.
His efforts for our common object were untiring, and
aever was his pen wielded more brilliantly. Perhaps,
indeed he overstrained his energies, and thus led to
the complete breakdown of his health soon after my
my imprisonment.

A few days h^er Sir Thomas Nelson, the City

58 PBI80NEE FOB BLASPHEMY.

Solicitor, served a summons on Mr. H. C. Cattell of
84 Fleet Street, who had so annoyed the bigots by
exposing the Christmas Number of the Freethinker in
his window. Detectives also visited other newsagents
and threatened them with prosecution if they persisted
in selling my paper. It was evident that the City
authorities were bent on utterly suppressing it. They
tried their utmost and they failed.

CHAPTER VI.

PREPARING FOR TRIAL.

There were many reasons why I did not wish to be
tried at the Old Bailey. First, it is an ordinary
criminal court, with all the vulgar characteristics of
such places: swarms of loud policemen, crowds of
chattering witnesses, prison-warders bent on recog*
nising old offenders, ushers who look soured by long^
familiarity with crime, clerks who gabble over indict-
ments with the voice and manner of a town-crier,
barristers in and out of work, some caressing a brief
and some awaiting one ; and a large sprinkling of idle
persons, curious after a fresh sensation and eager to
gratify a morbid appetite for the horrible. How could
the greatest orator hope to overcome the difficulties
presented by such surroundings ? The most magnifi-
cent speech would be shorn of its splendor, the most
powerful robbed of more than half its due effect. In
the next place, I should have to appear in the dock,
and address the jury from a position which seems to
require an apology in itself. And, further, that jury
would be a common one, consisting almost entirely of
small tradesmen, the very worst class to try such aa
indictment.

For these and other reasons I resolved to obtain, if
possible, a certiorari to remove our Indictment to th&

PHEPASmO lOB TBIAL. 59

Court of Queen's Bench ; and as the first Indictment
had been so removed, I did not anticipate any serious
difficulty. On Monday, February 19, after travelling
by the night train from Plymouth, where I had de-
livered three lectures the day before, I applied before
Justices Manisty and Matthew, who granted me a rule
nisi. But on the Saturday Sir Hardinge Oiffard
moved that the rule should be taken out of its order
in the Crown Paper, and argued on the following
Tuesday. Seeing that the Court was determined to *
assist him, I acquiesced in the motion rather than
waste my time in futile obstruction. On Tuesday,
February 27, Sir Hardinge GiflEard duly appeared,
supported by two junior counsel, Mr. Poland and Mr.
F. Lewis. The judges, as on tiie previous Saturday,
were Baron Huddleston and Mr. Justice North. The
former displayed the intensest bigotry and prejudice,
and the latter all that flippant insolence which he
subsequently displayed at my trial, and which appears
to be an inseparable part of his character. When, for
instance, I ventured to correct Sir Hardinge Giffard
on a mere matter of fact, as is quite customary in such
cases ; when I sought to point out that the Indictment
already removed included Mr. Ramsey and myself,
and not Mr. Bradlaugh only ; Justice North stopped
me with "Not a word, sir, not a word."

Sir Hardinge Giffard made a very short speech,
knowing that such judges did not require much per-
suasion. He moved that the rule nisi should be dis-
charged ; put in a copy of the Christmas Number of
the Freethinker^ which he described as a gross and
intentional outrage on the religious feelings of the
public ; alleged, as was perfectly true, that it was
still being sold ; and urged that the case was one
that should be sent for trial at once.

My reply was longer. After claiming the indulgence
of the Court for having to appear in person, owing to
my purse being shorter than the London Corporation's,
I laid before their lordships my reasons for asking
them to make the rule absolute. I argued that, as a
press offence, our case was eminently one for a special
jury ; that the law of blasphemy, which had not bee n

60 PfilSOKBB FOB BZiMPHBM'7.

interpreted for a generation, was very indefinite, and a
common jury might be easily misled ; tkat as contra*
dictory statements of the common law existed, it was
kighly advisable to have an authoritative judgment in
a superior Court ; that grave questions as to the rela-
tions of the statute and the common law might also
arise ; that it was manifestly unfair, while a sweeping
Indictment for blasphemy was removed to a higher
Court, that I should be compelled to plead in a lower
Court on a similar chai^ ; and that it was unjust to
try our case at the Old Bailey when the City Corpora-
tion was prosecuting us.

To none of these reasons, however, did their lord*
ships vouchsafe a reply or extend a consideration.
Baron Huddleston simply held the Christmas Number
of the Freethinker up in Court, and declared that no
sane man could deny that it was a blasphemous libel
— ^ contumelious reproach on our Blessed Savior.
But that was not the point at issue. Whether the
prosecuted publication was a blasphemous libel or
not, was a question for the jury at the proper time
and in the proper place. All Baron Huddleston was
concerned with was whether a fairer trial might be
obtained in a higher Court than in a lower one, and
before a special jury than before a common one.
That question he never touched, and the one he did
touch he was bound by legal and moral rules not to
deal with at all.

Justice North briefly concurred with his learned
brother, and refrained from adding anything beoaase
he would probably have to try the case at the Old
Bailey himself. What a pity he did not reflect on
the injustice of publicly branding as blasphemous
the very men he was going to try for blasphemy within
forty-eight hours !

The next morning, February 29, Mr. Ramsey, Mr.
Kemp and I duly appeared at the Old Bailey. Before
the regular business commenced, I asked his lordship
(it was indeed Justice North) to postpone our trisd
until the next sessions, on the ground that, as my
application for a certiorciri was only decided the day
before, there had been no time to prepare an adequate

VSMSPABXHG FOB TBIAL. 61

defence. His lordship refused to grant ns an honr for
that absurd purpose. Directly I sat down Mr. Poland
arose, and begged that our trial might be deferred un-
til the morrow, as his leader, Sir Hardinge Oiffard,
was obliged to attend elsewhere. This request was
granted with a gracious smile and a bland, **0f
course, Mr. Poland." What a spectacle ! An English
judge refusing a fellow-citizen a single hour for the
defence of his liberty and perhaps his life, and granting
a delay of twenty-four hours to enable a brother lawyer
to earn his fee !

I spent the rest of that day in preparations for the
morrow — writing out directions for Mr. Wheeler in
case I should be sent to prison, arranging books and
documents, and leaving messages with various friends ;
and I sat far into the night putting together finally the
notes for my defence. I was quite cool and collected ;
I neglected nothing I had time for, and I was dead
asleep five minutes after I laid my head on the pillow.
Only for a moment was I even perturbed. It was when
I was giving Mr. Wheeler his last instructions. Point-
ing to my book-shelves. I said : " Now, Joe, remember
that if Mrs. Foote has any need, or if there should ever
be a hitch with the paper, you are to sell my books— all
of them if necessary.'^ A great sob shook my friend
from head to foot. The bitter truth seemed to strike
him with startling force. Imprisonment, and all it
involved, was no longer a dim possibility : it was a grim
reality that might have to be faced to-morrow. ** Tut,
tut, Joe I" I said, grasping his arm and laughing. But
the laugh was half a &ilure, and there was a suspicious
moisture in my eyes, which I turned my face away to
conceal.

During the day I had a last interview with Mr. Brad-
laugh and Mrs. Besant at 63 Fleet Street. Mr. Bradlaugh
teld me he could find no flaw in our Indictment, and
his air was that of a man who sees no hope, but is re-
luctant to say so. Mrs. Besant was full of quiet sym-
pathy, proffering this and that kindness, and showing
how much her heart was greater than her opportunity
of assistance.

In the evening I attended the monthly Council meet*

62 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

ing of the National Secular Society. Mr. Ramsey was
also present. We both expressed our belief that we
should not meet our fellow-councillors again for some
time, and solemnly wished them good-bye, with a hope
that, if we were sent to prison, they would seize the
opportunity, and initiate an agitation against the Blas-
phemy Laws. I then drove home, and finished the
notes for my defence.

Early the next morning I was at 28 Stonecutter Street.
Being apprehensive of a fine as well as imprison-
ment, I made hasty arrangements for removing the
whole of the printing plant to some empty rooms in a
private house. Mr. A. Hilditch was the friend on whom
I relied in this emergency ; and I am indebted to him
for aid in many other difficulties arising from my pro-
secution. My foreman printer, Mr. A. Watkin, super-
intended the removal. By the evening not a particle
of our plant remained at the office. Mr, Watkin stuck
loyally to his duty during my long absence, and on my
return I found how much the Freethinker owed to his
unassuming devotion.

One ordeal was left. I had to say good-bye to my
wife. It was a dreadful moment. Reticence is wisdom
In such cases. I will not inflict sentiment on the reader,
and I was never given to wearing my heart upon my
sleeve. Let it suffice that I fought down even the last
weakness. When I stepped into the Old Bailey dock I
was calm and collected. All my energies were strung
for one task — ^the defence of my own liberty and of the
rights of Freethought.

That very morning the Freethinker appeared with its
usual illustration. It was the last number I edited for
twelve months. My final article was entitled, " No
Surrender," and I venture to quote it in full, as exhibit-
ing my attitude towards the prosecution within the
shadow of the prison walls : —

"The City Corporation is lavishly spending other people's
money in its attempt to put down the Freethinker. Sir Thomas
Nelson is keeping the pot boUing. He employs Sir Hardinge
Giffard and a tail of juniors in Court, and half the detectives of
London outside. These surreptitious c^entleman, who ought to
be engaged in detecting crime, are busuy occupied in purchasing

FBEPABING TOB TBIAL. 63

the Freethinker y waylaying newsvendors' messengers, intimidating
shopkeepers, and serving notices on the defendants. What
money, unscrupulously ootained and unscrupulously expended,
can do is being done. But there is one thing it cannot do. It
cannot damp our courage or alienate the sympathy of our
friends.

" There is evidently a widespread conspiracy against us. We
have to stand on trial at the Old Bailey in company with rogues,
thieves, burglars, murderers, and other products of Christian
civilisation. The company is not very agreeable, but then Jesus
himself was crucified between two thieves. No doubt the Jews
thought him the worst of the three, just as pious Christians will
think us worse than the vilest criminal at tke Old Bailey ; but
posterity has reversed the judgment on him, and it will as cer-
tainly reverse the judgment on us.

" IE a jury should give a verdict against us, which we trust it will
not, the prosecutors will probably strike again at some other Free-
thought publication. The appetite for persecution grows by what it
feeds on, and demands sacriiice after sacrifice until it is checked
by the aroused spirit of humanity. After a sleep of twenty-five
years the great beast has roused itself, and it may do consider-
able damage before it is driven back into its lair. We may
witness a repetition of the scenes of fifty and sixty years ago,
when scores of brave men and women faced fine and imprison-
ment for Freethought, tired out the very malice of their perse-
cutors, and made the Blasphemy Laws a dead letter for a whole
generation. May our victory be as great as theirs, even if our
sufferings be less.

" But will they be less? Who knows? They may even be
greater. Christian charity has grown so cold-blooded in its
vindictiveness since the * pioneer days* that blasphemers are
treated like beasts rather than men. There is a certain callous
refinement in the punishment awarded to heretics to-day.
Richard Carlile, and other heroes of the struggle for a free press,
were mostly treated as first-class misdemeanants ; they saw their
friends when they liked, had whatever fare they could paid for,
were allowed the free use of books and writing materials, and
could even edit their papers from gaoL All that is changed now.
A * blasphemer' who is sent to prison now gets a month of
Cross's plank-bed, is obliged to subsist on the miserable prison
fare, is dressed in the prison garb, is compelled to submit to
every kind of physical indignity, is shut out from all com-
munication with his relatives or friends except for one visit,
during the second three months, is denied the use of pen and
ink, and debarred irom all reading except the blessed Book.
England and Russia are the only countries in Europe that make
no distinction between press offenders and ordinal^ criminals.
The brutal treatment wmch was meted out to Mr. Truelove in

64 PBISONBB FOB BLASPHEMY.

his seventieth year, when his grey hairs shonld haye been hi»
protection, is what the outspoken sceptic must be prepared ta
nice. After eighteen centuries of Ghristianity, and an inter-
minable prooession of Christian * evidenoes/ such is the reply of
orthodoxy to the challenge of its critics

" These thingS; however, cannot terrorise us. We are prepared
to stand by our principles at all hazard. Our motto is No
Surrender. What we might concede to criticism we will never
yield to menace. The Freethinker, we repeat again, will go oa
whatever be the result of the present trial The flag will not fall
because one standard-bearer is stricken down ; it will be kept
flying proudly and bravely as of old-^shot-tom and blood-
stained perhaps, but flying, flying, flying ! "

Let me now pause to say a few words about our
Indictment. It was framed on the model of the one
I have already described charging us with being
wicked and profane persons, instigated by the Devil
to publish certain blasphemous libels in the Christmas
Number of the Freethinker, to the danger of the
Queen's Crown and dignity and the public peace, and
to the great displeasure of Almighty God. The various
" blasphemies " were set forth in full, and my readers
shall know what they were.

Mr. Wheeler's comic "Trial for Blasphemy" was
one of the pieces. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
were accused of blasphemy in the Court of Common
Sense. They were charged with publishing all the
absurdities in the four gospels, and in especial with
stating that a certain young Jew was God Almighty
himself. After the citation and examination of many
witnesses, Mr. Smart, Q.C., urged upon the jury that
there was absolutely no evidence against the prisoners.
It was perfectly clear that they were not the authors
of the libels ; their names had been used without
their knowledge or sanction ; and he confidently ap-
pealed to the jury for a verdict of Not Guilty. "After
a brief consultation," concluded this clever skit, " the
jury, who had carefully examined the documents,
were of opinion that there was nothing to prove that
the prisoners wrote the libels complained of. A verdict
of acquittal was accordingly entered, and the prisoners
were discharged."

Now, every person acquainted with Biblical criticism

PBEFAIUNG FOB TBIAL. 65

knows that Mr. Wheeler simply put the conclusions of
nearly all reputable scholars in a bright, satirical way;
and a century hence people will be astonished to learn
that such a piece of defensible irony, every line of
which might be justified by tons of learning, was
included in an indicment for blasphemy, and con-
sidered heinous enough to merit severe punishment.

There were a few lines of verse picked out of long
poems, and violently forced from their context ; and
also a few facetious "Answers to Correspondents,"
mangled in the same way. Certainly any publication
could be condemned on this plan. The Bible itself
might be proved an obscene book.

Then came eighteen illustrations, entitled " A New
Life of Christ." All the chief miracles of his career
were satirised, but not a single human incident was
made the subject of ridicule. Now, if mirdclea are
not objects of satire, I should like to know what are.
If they never happened, why should they enjoy more
respect and protection than other delusions ? Why
should one man be allowed to deny miracles, and
another man imprisoned for laughing at them ? Must
we regard long-faced scepticism as permissible heresy,
and broad-faced scepticism as punishable blasphemy ?
And if so, why not set up a similar distinction between
long and broad faces in every other department of
thought ? Why not let Pwnch and Fun be suppressed,
political cartoons be Anathema, and social satire a
felony ?

Another illustration was called " A Back View." It
represented Moses enjoying a panoramic view of
Jahveh's "back parts." Judge North did his dirty
worst to misrepresent this picture, and perhaps it was
be who induced the Home Secretary to believe that
our pulication was " obscene." In reality the obsce-
nity is in the Bible. The writer of Exodus contem-
plated sheer nudity, but the Freethinker dressed
Jahveh in accordance with the more decent customs
of the age of reason. I would cite on this point the
judgment of Mr. Moncure D. Conway, the famous
minister of South Place Chapel. He expressed
himself as follows in a discourse on Blasphemous

66 PRISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

Libel immediately after our imprisonment, since pub-
lished in " Lessons for the Day ": —

<*The prosecutor described the libels as *mdecent,' an am-
biguous word which might convey to the public an impression
that there was something obscene about the pictures or Ismguage,
which is not the fact The coarsest picture is a sidewise view of
a giant's form, in laborer's garb, the upper and lower part veiled
by a cloud. Only when one knows that the figure is meaint for
Jahv^ could any shock be felt The worst sense of the word
* indecent ' was accentuated by the prosecutor's saying that the
libels were too bad for him to describe. In this way they were
withheld from the pubUc inteUigence while exaggerated to its
imagination. The fact under this is that some bigots wished to
punish some Atheists, but could only single them out beside
eminent men equally guilty, and forestall pubHc sympathy by
pretending they had committed a Ubel partly obscene. This is
not English."

Frederick the Great, being a king, was a privileged
blasphemer. In some unquotable verses written a^er
the battle of Rossbach, where he routed the French
and drove them oflE the field pell-mell, he sings, as
Carlyle says, " with a wild burst of spiritual enthu-
siasm, the charms of the rearward part of certain
men ; and what a royal ecstatic felicity there is in
indisputable survey of the same." "He rises," adds
Carlyle, "to the heights of Anti-Biblical profanity,
quoting Moses on the Hill of Vision." To Soubise and
Company the poet of Potsdam sings —

" Je vous ai vu comme Moise
Dans des ronces en certain lieu
Eut rhonneur de voir Dieu."

Frederick's verso is halting enough, but it has "a
certain heartiness and epic greatness of cynicism";
and so his biographer continues justifying this royal
outburst of racy profanity with Rabelaisian gusto. I
dare not follow him ; but I am anxious to know why
Carlyle's "Frederick" circulates with impunity and
even applause, while the Freethinker is coademned
and denounced. Judge North may be ignorant- of
Carlyle's masterpiece, but I can hardly presume the
same ignorance in Sir William Harcoart. He probably
Binned against a greater light. Few worse outrages on

PBEPABIKG rOB TRIAL. 67

public decency have been committed than his de-
scribing my publication as not only blasphemous, but
obscene. And the circumstances in which this slander
was perpetrated served to heighten its criminality.

CHAPTER Vn.

AT THE OLD BAILBT.

" Gborgb William Foote, William James Ramsey,
and Henry Arthur Kemp," cried the Clerk of the Court
at the Old Bailey. It was Thursday morning, March
1, 1883, and as we stepped into the dock the clock
registered five minutes past ten. We were provided
with chairs, and there were pens and ink on the narrow
ledee before us. It was not large enough, however, to
hold all my books, some of which had to be deposited
on the floor, and fished np as I required them. Behind
us stood two or three Newgate warders, who took quite
a benevolent interest in our case. Over their heads
was a gallery crammed with sympathisers, and many
more were seated in the body of the court. Mr. Wheeler
occupied a seat just below me, in readiness to convey
any messages or hand me anything I might require.
Between us and the judge were several rows of seats,
all occupied by gentlemen in wigs, eager to follow
such an unusual case as ours. Sir Hardinge Giffard
lounged back with a well-practised air of superiority
to the legal small-fry around him, and near him sat
Mr. Poland and Mr. Lewis, who were also retained by
the prosecution. Justice North was huddled in a raised
chair on the bench, and owing perhaps to the unfor«
tunate structure of the article, it seemed as though he
was being shot out every time he leaned forward.
His countenance was by no means assuring to the

68 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

"prisoners." He smiled knowingly to Sir Hardinge
Giffard, and treated ns with an insolent stare. Watching"
him closely through my eye-glass, I read my fate so far
as he conld decide it. His air was that of a man intent
on peremptorily settling a troublesome piece of busi-
ness ; his strongest characteristic seemed infallibility,
and his chief expression omniscience. I saw at once
that we should soon fall foul of each other, as in fact
we did in less than ten minutes. My comportment
was unusual in the Old Bailey dock ; I did not look
timid or supplicating or depressed ; I simply bore
myself as though I were doing my accustomed work.
That was my first offence. Then I dared to defend
myself, which was a greater offence still ; for his lord-
ship had not only made up his mind that I was guilty,
but resolved to play the part of prosecuting counsel.
We were bound to clash, and, if I am not mistaken, we
exchanged glances of defiance almost as soon as we
faced each other. His look said ** I will convict you,**
and mine answered " We shall see."

Sir Hardinge Giffard's speech in opening the case
for the prosecution was brief, but remarkably astute.
He troubled himself very little about the law of Blas-
phemy, although the jury had probably never heard of
it before. He simply appealed to their prejudices. He
spoke with bated breath of our ridiculing " the most
awful mysteries of the Christian faith." He described
our letterpress as an "outrage on the feelings of a
Christian community," which he would not shock
public decency by reading ; and our woodcuts as " the
grossest and most disgusting caricatures." And then,
to catch any juryman who might not be a Christian,
though perhaps a Theist, he declared that our blasphe-
mous libels would "grieve the conscience of any
sincere worshipper of the great God above us." This
appeal was made with uplifted forfinger, pointing to
where that being might be supposed to reside, which I
inferred was near the ceiling. Sir Hardinge Giffard
finally resumed his seat with a look of subdued horror
on his wintry face. He tried to appear exhausted by
his dreadful task, so profound was the emotion excited
even in his callous mind by our appalling wickedness.

AT THE OLD BAILEY. 69

It was well acted, and must, I fancy, have been well
rehearsed. Yes, Sir Hardinge GiflEard is decidedly
clever. It is not accident that has made him legal
scavenger for all the bigots in England.

Mr. Poland and Mr. Lewis then adduced the evidence
against us. I need not describe their performance.
It occupied almost two hours, and it was nearly one
o'clock when I rose to address the jury. That would
have been a convenient time for lunch, but his lordship
told me I had better go on till the usual hour. As I
had only been speaking about thirty minutes when we
did adjourn for lunch, I infer that his lordship was not
unwilling to spoil my defence. How diflEerent was the
action of Lord Coleridge when he presided at our third
trial in the Court of Queen's Bench ! The case for the
prosecution closed at one o'clock, exactly as it did on
our first trial at the Old Bailey. But the Lord Chief
Justice of England, with the instinct of a gentleman
and the consideration of a just judge, did not need to
be reminded that an adjournment in half an hour
would make an awkward break in our defence. With-
out any motion on our part, he said : " If you would
rather take your luncheon first, before addressing the
jury, do so by all means." Mr. Ramsey, who preceded
me then, had just risen to read his address. After a
double experience of Judge North, and two months'
imprisonment like a common thief under his sentence,
he was fairly staggered by Lord Coleridge's kindly
proposal, and I confess I fully shared his emotion.

Sir Hardinge GiflEard had grossly misled the jury on
one point. He told them that even in "our great
Indian dominions, where Christianity was by no means
the creed of the majority of the population, it had been
found necessary to protect the freedom of conscience
and the right of every man to hold his own faith, by
making criminal oflEenders of those who, for outrage
and insult, thought it necessary to issue contumelious or
scornful publications concerning any religious sect."
In reply to this absolute falsehood, I pointed out that
the Indian law did not aflEect publications at all, but
simply punished people for openly desecrating sacred
places or railing at any sect in the public thoroughfare

70 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

on the ground that such conduct tended to a breach of
the peace ; and that under the very same law members
of the Salvation Army had been arrested and imprisoned
because they persisted in walking in procession through
the streets. Under the Indian law, no prosecution of
the Freethinker could have been initiated ; and, in sup-
port of this statement, I proceeded to quote from a letter
by Professor W. A. Hunter, in the Daily News. Judge
North doubtless knew that I could cite no higher
authority, and seeing how badly his friend Sir Hardinge
was faring, he prudently came to his assistance. Jriter-
rupting me very uncivilly, he inquired what Professor
Hunter's letter had to do with the subject, and re-
marked that the jury had nothing to do with the law
of India. " Tlien, my lord," I retorted, "I will discon-
tinue my remarks on this point, only expressing my
regret that the learned counsel should have thought it
necessary to occupy the time of the court with it."
Whereat there was much laughter, and his lordship's
face was covered with an angry flush.

Later in my address I had along altercation with his
lordship. I wanted to show the jury that such heresy
as I had published in the Freethinker abounded in
high-class publications, but Justice North endeavored
(vainly enough) to prevent me. The verbatim report
of what occurred is so rich that I give it here instead of
a summary version :

" Now, gentlemen, I told you before that one of the reasons, in
my opinion, why the present prosecution was commenced, was
that the alleged blasphemous libels were published in a cheap
paper, and I asked you to bear in mind that there was plenty
of heresy in expensive books, published at lOs., 12s., and even
as much as £1 and more. I think I have a right to ask that
you should have some proof of this statement. I think I can
show you that similar views are expressed by the leading writers
of to-day — not, perhaps, in precisely the same language — for it
is not to be expected that die paper which is ad(&essed to the
many will be conducted on just the same level, either intel-
lectually or aesthetically speaking, as a publication, in the form
of an expensive book, which is only intended for men of edu-
cation, intelligence and leisure ; but such views are put before
the public by the most prominent writers of the oay. You
will, of course, expect to find differences in the mode of expres-
sion, and as a matter of course, differences of taste ; but I sub-

AT THE OLD BAILEY. 71

mit that differences of taste affect the question yeiy little,
unless, as I have said, they actually lead to breaches of the
peace. Bnt in a case like this there onght to be no distinction
on grounds of taste. Surely the man who says a thing in one
way is not to be punished, while the man who says the same
thing in another way is to go scot free. Tou cannot make a
distinction between men on grounds of taste. I can ima^e
that if there were a parliament of aesthetic gentlemen, and Mr.
Oscar Wilde were made Prime Minister, some such arrangement
as that would find weight before the jury; but, in the present
state of enlightened opinion, I do not think that any such
arrangement would be accepted by you. Now, gentleman, I
shall call your attention first of all to a book which is published
by no less a firm than the old and well-established house of
Longmans. The author of the book

Mr. Justice North : What is the name of the book ?

Mr. Foote : The book is the •Autobiography of John Stuart Mill.'

Mr. Justice North : What are you going to refer to it for?

Mr. Foote : I am going to refer to one page of it, my lord.

Mr. Justice North : What for P

Mr. Foote : To show that identical views to those expressed
in the cheap paper before the court are expressed in expensive
Yolmnes.

Mr. Justice North : I shall not hear anything of that sort I
am not trying the question, nor are the jmy, whether the views
expressed by other persons are sound or right. The question is
whether you are gmlty of a blasphemous libeL I shall direct
them that it will be for them to say whether the facts are proved
in this case.

Mr. Foote : I will call your attention, my lord, to the remarks
of Lord Justice Cockbum id a similar case.

Mr. Justice North : I will hear anything relevant to the sub-
ject. My reason for asking you was to find out whether you
were going to quote a law book.

Mr. Foote : 1 will quote a verbatim report.

Mr. Justice North : I can hear that.

Mr. Foote: It is the case against Charles Bradlaugh and
Annie Besant.

Mr. Justice North : By whom is your report published?

Mr. Foote : It is a verbatim report published by the Free-
thought Publishing Company — the shorthand notes of the full
proceedings, with the cross-examination and the judgment of
the court

Mr. Justice North : There is no evidence of that Did you
hear it?

Mr. Foote : I did not personally hear it, but my co-defendants
did.

72 PEISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

Mr. Justice North : I will hear you state anything yort
suggest as being said by Lord Chief Justice Gockbum.

Mr. Foote : Mrs. Besant was about to read a passage from
* Tristram Shandy '

Mr. Justice North : You have not proved the publication.

Mr. Foote : Quite so, my lord ; but although this is not formal
evidence, and only the report of a case, I thought your lordship
would not object to hear it.

[Mr. Foote here handed in a copy of the report to the judge,
and pointed out that the Lord Chief Justice had said he could
not prevent Mrs. Besant from committing a passage to memory,
or from reading books as if reciting from memory].

Mr. Justice North : I wiU allow you to go on, either quoting
from memory or reading from the book ; but I cannot go into
the question of whether this is right or not.

Mr. Foote: I am not proposing that. I am only going to
show that opinions like those expressed here extensively prevaiL

Mr. Justice North : That is not the question at all. if they
extensively prevail, so much the worse. . What somebody else
has said, whoever that person may be, cannot affect the question
in this case.

Mr. Foote : But, my lord, might it not affect the question of
whether a jury might not themselves, by an adverse verdict, be
far more contributiDg to a breach of the peace than the publica-
tion on which they are asked to adjudicate ?

Mr. Justice North : I think not, and it shall not do so if I can
help it. It is a mere waste of time to attempt to justify anything
that has been said in the alleged Ubel by showing that someone
else has said the same thing.

Mr. Foote : Li all trials the same process has been allowed.

Mr. Justice North : It will not be allowed on this occasion.

Mr. Foote : If your lordship will pardon me for calling
attention to the famous case of the King against William
Hone, I would point out that there Hone read extracts to the
jury.

Mr. Justice North : Very possibly it might have been relevant
in that cafie.

Mr. Foote : But, my lord, it was precisely a similar case — ^it
was a case of bla^hemous libeL Lord Ellenborough sat on the
bench.

Mr. Justice North : Possibly.

Mr. Foote : And Lord Ellenborough allowed Mr. Hone to read
what he considered justificatory of his own publication. The
same thing occurred in the case of the Queen against Bradlaugh
and Besant

Mr. Justice North : We have nothing to do to-day with the
question whether any author has taken the views which are taken
in these libels, whoever the author was.

AT THE OLD BAILET. 73^

Mr. Foote : Does your lordship mean that I am to go on read-
ing or not ?

Mr. Justice North : Go on with your address to the jury, sir ;
that's what I wish you to do. But you cannot do what you were
about to do— refer to the book you mentioned for any such pur-
pose as you indicated.

Mr. Foote : I hope your lordship does not misunderstand me.
I am simply defenmng myself against a very grave charge under
an old law.

Mr. Justice North : Go on, go on, Foote. I know that Go
on with your address.

Mr. Foote : Tour lordship, these questions are part of my
address. Gentlemen (turning to the jury), no less a person
than a brother of one of our most distinguished judges has
said

Mr. Justice North : Now, again, I cannot have you quoting
books not in evidence, for the sake of putting before the
jury the matters they state. The passage you referred to is one
in which the Lord Chief Justice pointed out that that could not
be done.

Mr. Foote : But the action, my lord, of the Lord Chief Justice
did not put a stop to the reading. He said he would allow Mrs.
Besant to quote any passage as a part of her address.

Mr. Justice North : Go on.

Mr. Foote : No less a person than the brother of one of our
most learned

Mr. Justice North : Now did I not tell you that you could not
do that?

Mr. Foote : Will your lordship give me a most distinct ruling
in this case ?

Mr. Justice North : I am ruling that you cannot do what you
are trying to do now.

Mr. Foote : I am sorry, my lord, I cannot understand.

Mr. Justice North : I am sorry for it. I have tried to make
myself clear.

Mr. Foote : Does your lordship mean that I am not to read
from anything to show justification of the libel ?

Mr. Justice North : There is no justification in the case. The
question the jury have to decide is whether you, and the persons
present with you, are guilty of a libel or not For that purpose
they will have to consider whether the matters in question are a
libel. K so, they will have also to consider whether you and the
other defendants are guilty of having published it. If they
think it a libel, and that you have pubUshed it, they wiU have
answered the only two questions they will have to put to them-
selves.

Mr. Foote : My lord, in an ordinary libel case justification can
be shown.

t4 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMT.

Mr. Justice North: GrO on.

Mr. Foote : I do not wish to occupy the time of the conrt
unnecessarily, but really I think your lordship ought to remem-
ber the grave position in which I stand, and not stand in the
way of anything which I consider to be of vital importance to
my defence.

Mr. Justice North : I have pointed out to you what I consider
to be the question the jury have got to decide. I hope you will
not go outside the lines I have pointed out to you ; but, with
these remarks, I am very reluctant to interfere witii any prisoner
saying anything which he considers necessary, and I will not
stop you. I hope you will not abuse the concession I consider I
am making to you.

Mr. Foote: I should be very sorry, my lord. I am only
stating what I consider necessary.*'

This is a very fair specimen of his lordship's
manners. Unf ortunately, it is also a fair specimen of
his lordship's law. When I read similar extracts in the
Court of Queen's Bench, Lord Coleridge never inter-
rupted me once ; nay, he told the jury that I had very
properly brought those passages before their notice^
that I had a perfect right to do so, and that it was a
legitimate part of my defence. Since then I have
conversed with many gentlemen who were present,
some of them belonging to the legal profession, and I
have heard but one opinion expressed as to Judge
North's conduct. They all agree that it was utterly un-
dignified, and a scandal to the bench. Perhaps it had
something to do with his lordship's removal, a few
weeks afterwards, to the Chancery Court, where his
eccentricities, as the Daily News remarked at the time,
will no longer endanger the liberty and lives of hia
fellow-subjects.

When I cited Fox's Libel Act and asked that my
copy, purchased from the Queen's printers, might be
handed to the jury for their guidance, his lordship
sharply ordered the officer not to pass it to them. " I
shall tell them," he said, " what points they have to
decide," as though 1 had no right to press my own
view. He would never have dared to treat a defending
counsel in that way, and he ought to have known that
a defendant in person has all the rights of a counsel,
the latter having absolutely no standing in court ex-

AT THE OLD 3AILEY. 75

cept so far as he represents a first party in a suit. May
they not have a copy of the Act, my lord ? " I in-
quired. "No," replied his lordship, "they will take
^e law from the directions I give them ; not from
reading Acts of Parliament." This is directly counter
to the spirit and letter of Fox's Act ; and I suspect that
Judge North would have expressed himself more
f?uardedly in a higher court. If juries have nothing
to do with Acts of Parliament, why are statutes en-
acted ? Judge North would be ashamed and afraid to
speak in that way before his superior brother judges at
the Law Courts ; but at the Old Bailey he was absolute
master of the situation, and he abused his power. He
knew there was no court of criminal appeal, and no
danger of his being checked by either of the fat
aldermen on the bench. They were in fact our prose-
cutors, and they appeared to enjoy their paltry triumph.

As I have said, I began my address to the jury at one
o'clock, and at half -past we adjourned for lunch. Mr.
Wheeler ran across the road and ordered some re-
freshment for us, and pending its arrival we
descended the dock-stairs and entered a sub-
terranean passage, which was lit by a single gas-jet.
On each side there was a little den with an iron
gate. One of these was filled with prisoners await-
ing trial or sentence, who gazed through the bars at
ns with mingled glee and astonishment. They were
chatting merrily, and I imagine from their free and
easy manner that most of them were old gaol-birds.
Perhaps there were some forlorn, miserable creatures
cowering in the darkness behind, with throbbing
brows and hearts like lead, on whose ears the light
laughter of their callous companions grated even more
harshly than it did on ours.

The left-hand den was empty, and into it we were
ushered by the aged janitor, who regarded us with
looks of mute reproach. He was evidently subdued to
what he worked in. His world consisted of two classes
—criminals and police ; and without any further cere-
mony of trial and sentence, the very fact of our
descending into his Inferno was clear evidence that we
belonged to the former class.

76 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

As the den was only illuminated by a few straggling
gleams from the gas-jet outside, we were unable to dis-
criminate any object until our eyes grew accustomed to
the gloom. While we were in this state of semi-
blindness, something stirred. I wondered whether it
was a dog or a rat. The doubt was soon resolved. A
human form reared itself up from the bench against
the wall, where it had been lying, not asleep indeed,
but half unconscious ; and to our great surprise, it
turned out to be Mr. Cattell, who had surrendered to
his bail at the same time as we did, and had been
shivering there ever since ten o'clock. After we left
him he continued shivering for three or four hours
longer in that black-hole of the Old Bailey, which
struck a chill into our very bones even in the brief
period of our tenancy, and which could hardly be
warmed by any conflagration short of the last. It
appeared damp as well as cold, and a sinister effluvium
came from a place of necessity at the back. Six or
seven hours' incarceration in such a place might injure
a strong constitution and seriously damage a weak one.
Surely it is scandalous that unconvicted prisoners, some
of whom are eventually acquitted, should suffer this
unnecessary hardship and incur this unnecessary risk.

Presently our lunch arrived. The platefuls of meat
and vegetables had a savory smell, our appetites were
keen, and our stomachs empty. But a difficulty arose.
There were forks, but no knives ; those lethal instru-
ments being forbidden lest prisoners should attempt
to cut their throats. I subsequently had the use of a
tin knife in Newgate, but even that, which used to be
common in prisons, is now proscribed. The only
carving instruments allowed the guests in her Majesty's
hotels is a wooden spoon, although the tin knife still
lingers in the Houses of Detention. Among other
elaborate precautions against suicide, I found that the
prisoners awaiting trial were furnished with quill
pens. Steel pens had been banished after the desperate
exploit of one poor wretch, who had stabbed away at
his windpipe with one, and inflicted such grave
injuries that the officials had great difficulty in saving
his life.

AT THE OLD BAILEY. 77

Bnt revenons a nos moutotis, or rather our forks.
We disposed of the vegetables somehow, and as for
the meat, we were obliged to split and gnaw it after
the fashion of our primitive ancestors. We drank out
of the mouth of the claret bottle, passing it round till
it was emptied. It was probably a good honest bottle,
but in the circumstances it seemed a despicable fraud.
We tried hard for another supply, but we failed.
Being anxious to prevent a display of inebriety in the
dock, or desirous to repress rather than stimulate our
audacity, the venerable janitor interposed the most
effectual obstacles, and we were constrained to reason
down the remnant of our thirst, which, if I may infer
from my own case, was almost as insensible to argu-
ment as the judge himself.

Feeling very cold, we essayed a little exercise. The
dimensions of our den, which were three steps each
way, did not allow much play for individuality.
Erratic pedestrianism was clearly dangerous, so we
rushed round in Indian file, like braves on the war-
path ; and, by way of relieving the tedium, we specu-
lated on the number of laps in a mile. Our proceedings
seemed to strike the wild beasts in the opposite den as
unaccountable imbecility. They grinned at us through
the bars with as much delight as children might
evince in the Zoological Gardens at a performance of
insane monkeys. But their amusement was suddenly
arrested. St. Peter appeared at the gate, flourishing
his keys. It was two o'clock.

What a strange sensation it was, mounting those
dock stairs I More loudly than my experiences below,
it said — "You are a prisoner." The court was densely
crowded, and as I emerged into it, the sea of faces,
suddenly caught en masse, seemed cold and alien. The
feeling was only momentary, but I fancy it resembled
the weird thrill that must have swept through the
ancient captive as he entered the Roman arena from
his dark lair, and confronted the vague host of in-
different faces that were to watch his fight for life.

I resumed my address to the jury at two o'clock,
and concluded it at four. A considerable portion of
that time was spent in altercations with the judge, r^

78 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

which I have already given some striking specimens.
Let me now give another. It excited great laughter in
court, and I confess the situation was so comic that I
could scarcely preserve my own gravity. After quoting
a number of " blasphemous " passages from the writings
of FroiessoT Clifford, Lord Amberley, Matthew Arnold,
the author of " The Evolution of Christianity," Swin-
burne, Byron and Shelley, I proceeded thus : " Now,
gentlemen, I have given you a few illustrations of per-
mitted blasphemy in expensive books, and I will now
trouble you with a few instances of permitted blas-
phemy in cheap publications, which are unmolested
because they call themselves Christian, and because
those who conduct them are patronised by ecclesiastical
dignitaries." Here I produced a copy of the War Cry,
in which I had marked a piece of idiotic " blasphemy."
Judge North scented mischief, and gestured to the
officer behind me. But that functionary was too deeply
interested in the case to make much haste, and, not
wishing to be frustrated, I read as rapidly as I could.
Before he could arrest me I had finished the extract.
My auditors were all convulsed with laughter, except
the judge, who was convulsed with rage. As soon
as he could articulate he addressed me as follows : —

" Mr. Justice North : Now, Foote, I am going to put a stop to
this. I will not allow any more of these illustrations of what you
caU permitted blasphemy in cheap publications. I decline to
have any more of them put before me.

Mr. Foote : My Lord, I will use them for another purpose, if
you will allow me.

Mr. Justice North : You will not use them here at all, sir.

Mr. Foote : May they not be used, my lord to show that an
equally free use of religious symbols, and religious language,
prevails widely in all elates of literature and society ?

Mr. Justice North : No they may not I decline to hear them
read. They are not in evidence, and I refuse to allow you to
quote from such documents as part of your speech.

Mr. Foote : Well, gentlemen, I wui now ask your attention
very briefly to another branch of the subject

The fact is, I was perfectly satisfied. I had purposely
kept the War Cry till the last. It naturally ended
my list of citations, and his lordship's victory was
entirely specious.

AT THE OLD BAILEY. 79

Those who may wish to read my address in its en-
tirety will find it in " The Three Trials for Blasphemy,"
For those, however, who are not so curious or so pains-
taking, I give here the peroration only, to show what
sentiments I appealed to in the breasts of the jury, and
how far my defence was from boastf ulness or servility :

Grentlemen, — I told you at the outset that vou are the last
Court of Appeal on all questions affecting the liberty of the press
and the right of free speech and Freethought When I say Free-
tiiought, I do not refer to specific doctrines that may pass under
that name : I refer to the great right of Freethought, that Free-
thought which is neither bo low as a cottage nor so lofty as a
pyramid, but is like the soaring azure vault of heaven, which
over-arches both with equal ease. I ask you to affirm the liberty
of the press, to show by your verdict that you are prepared to
give to others the same freedom that you ckom for yourselves. I
ask you not to be misled by the statements that have been
thrown out by the prosecution, nor by the authority and influence
of the mighty and rich Corporation which commenced this action,
has found the money for it, and whose very solicitor was bound
over to prosecute. I ask you not to be influenced by these con-
siderations, but rather to remember that this present attack is
made upon us probably because we are connected with those who
have been struck at again and again by some of the very persons
who are engaged in tMs prosecution ; to remember that England
is growing day by day in its humanity and love of freedom ; and
that, as blasphemy has been an offence less and less proceeded
against during the past century, so there will probably be fewer
and fewer proceedmgs against it in the next. Indeed, there
may never be another prosecution for blasphemy, and I am sure
you would not like to have it weigh on your minds that you
were the instruments of the last act of persecution — ^that you
were the last jury who sent to be caged uke wild beasts men
against whose honesty there has been no charge. I am quite
sure you will not allow yourselves to be made the agents of
sending such men to herd with the lowest criminals, and to be
subjected to all the indignities such punishment involves. I am
sure you will send me, as well as my co-defendants, back to our
homes and friends, who do not think the worse of us for the
position in which we stand : that you will send us back to them
unstained, giving a verdict of Not Guilty for me and my co-
defendants, instead of a verdict of Guilty for the prosecution ;
and thus, as English juries have again and again done before,
vindicate the ^orious principle of the freedom of the press,
against all the religious and political factions that may seek to
impugn it for their own ends.^

^0 PRISOXEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

The court officials could not stifle the burst of ap-
plause that greeted my peroration. I had flung all
my books and papers aside and faced the jury. I spoke
in passionate accents. My expression and gestures were
doubtless full of that dramatic power which comes of
tamest sincerity. I felt every sentiment I uttered, and
I believe I made the jury feel it too, for they were
visibly impressed, and their emfotion was obviously
shared by the crowd of listeners who represented the
greater jury of public opinion.

Mr. Ramsey followed me with a speech which he
read from manuscript. It occupied half an hour in
delivery. It was terse and vigorous, and it really
<50vered most of the ground in debate. I listened to it
with pleasure as an admirable summary of our position.
But it lost much of its force in being read instead of
spoken extemporaneously, and its very virtues as a
paper were its defects as an address. The points wanted
elaboration. Before they had fairly mastered one argu-
ment, the jury were hurried on to another. Mr. Ramsey
is by no means incapable of making a forcible speech,
and I think he should have trusted to his power of im-
provisation. There was no need for a long effort. He
might have concentrated himself on a few salient points
of our defence, and pressed them on the jury with all
his might. His own sentiments, naturally expressed,
in homely language, would have had a greater effect
than any literary composition. After an experience of
three trials, I would give this advice to every man who
has to defend himself before a jury on a charge of
blasphemy or sedition — " Write out on a sheet of paper
the heads of your defence. Number them in the order
you think they should be treated, so that your address
may have a logical continuity. Fill in your sub-divi-
sions, similarly numbered, under the chief heads,
beginning the lines half-way across the page, so as to
<jatch the eye readily. Think every clause out care-
fully. Fix every illustration in your mind until it
becomes almost a fact of memory. Don't write out
fine passages and try to remember them verbally. Write
nothing; it will only confuse you, unless you have
long practised that method. When you have syste-

AT THE OU) BAILEY. 81

matised yonr thoughts, and think your written arra^nge-
ment is complete, ponder it clause by clause with tiie
paper at hand for constant reference. No matter if
your thoughts seem to wander, and the subject appears
to grow vague ; your mind is dwelling on it, and ideas
w^ill fructify in your mind unconsciously as seeds
sprout in the dark. When the hour of trial arrives,
arm yourself with the familiar paper, trust to your own
courage, and speak out. You will have thoughts, and
nature will find you words."

Justice North's summing-up was simply a clever and
unscrupulous bit of special pleading. Sir Hardinge
Giffard had left the court, and his friend on the bench
conducted his case for him. He told the jury that I
had wasted their time, and indulged in a number of
other insults, which might be pardonable in a legal
hack bent on earning his client's fee, but were scarcely
consistent with the dignity and impartiality of a judge.
His tone was even worse than his words. He had no
sympathy with us in our desperate effort to defend our
liberty against such overwhelming odds, nor did we
solicit any ; but we had a right to expect him to refrain
from constant expressions of antipathy. That, how-
ever, was not the whole of his offence against the rules
of justice. He recurred to the bad old example of Lord
EUenborough in devoting most of his time to answering
my arguments. Lord Coleridge remarked in the Court
of Queen's Bench that such a task was not for the judge,
but for the counsel on the other side of the case. I
wish his lordship had read a lesson to Justice North on
that subject before he presided at our trial.

There is only one passage of his summing-up that I
wish to criticise fully. It contains his statement of the
Law of Blasphemy. But as he made a very different
statement four days later on at our second trial, I prefer
to wait until, by placing these discrepant utterances
together, I can give the reader a fair idea of Justice
North's authority as a legal oracle.

The jmy retired at five o'clock. Justice North kept
his seat, probably fancying they would soon agree to a
verdict of Guilty. But as the minutes went by, and
the result seemed after all dubious, he resorted to

82 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMT.

paltry trick. Notwithstanding the late hour, he had
Mr. Cattell brought into the dock for trial. By pro-
cnring a verdict against him our jury might be in-
fluenced. According to theory, of course, the jury hold
no communication -with the world while in delibera-
tion ; but it is well known that officers of the court
have access to them, and tidings of Mr. CattelFs fate
could be easily conveyed.

We stepped down the stairs, out of sight but not out
of hearing, and made way for Mr. Cattell to take our
place in the dock. He was very pale with cold and
apprehension, and too timid to take a seat, he stood
with his hands resting on the top ledge. The evidence
against him was very brief. Instead of defending him-
self he had employed counsel. That gentleman ad-
mitted the "horrible character of the publication, so
eloquently denounced by the learned judge." He said
that his client could not for a moment think of defend-
ing it ; in fact, he had only sold it in ignorance, and
he would never repeat the offence. On the ground of
that ignorance and that promise, it was hoped that the
jury would return a verdict of Not Guilty. Mr. Cattell
declares that he never instructed his counsel to say any-
thing of the kind ; but all I know is that it was said,
and that while our cheeks were tingling with shame
and indignation, he heard it all without a word of
protest.

Judge North acted openly as counsel for the prose-
cution in this trial. There was not the slightest dis-
guise. He took the case completely into his own hands,
examined and cross-examined. His summing-up was
a disgusting exhibition. Naturally enough the jury
returned a verdict of Guilty without leaving the box ;
but sentence was deferred until our jury had also
agreed.

By this time I felt convinced they would not agree,
and every minute strengthened my belief. While they
deliberated we were all conducted to the subterranean
den, where we kept each other in good spirits. St.
Peter brought us some water to drink in a dirty tin can.
We tasted it, found that a little of it was more than
enough, and declined to hazard a further experiment

AT THE OLD BAILEY. 83

on onr health. At last^ after two hours and ten minutes'
waiting, we were snmmoned back to the dock. There
was profound silence in court, and as the jury filed
into their seats a painful sense of expectation pervaded
the assembly. His lordship said that he had called
them into court to see whether he could assist them in
any way, and especially by explaining the law to them
again. The foreman, in a very quiet, composed manner,
replied that they all understood the law, but there was no
chknce of their agreeing. His lordship invited them
to try a further consultation, to which the foreman
replied that it would be useless. -'Then," said his
lordship, " I am very sorry to say I must discharge you,
and have the case tried again.'' Then, turning to the
.Clerk of Arraigns, he added, "I will attend here on
Monday and try the case again with a different jury."
This was against the ordinary rule of the court, and the
sessions had to be prolonged into the next week for our
Bakes ; but his lordship could not deny himself the
luxury of sentencing us. He had set his heart on send-
ing us to gaol, and would not be baulked.

We naturally expected to be liberated till Monday,
and I formally applied for a renewal of our bail. But
his lordship refused my application in the most peremp-
tory and insulting manner. I pointed out that I should
require a proper opportunity to prepare another defence
for the second trial, to which his lordship replied, ** You
will have the same opportunity then that you have now."
He then hurriedly left the bench, and we were in custody
of the Governor of Newgate. Several friends rushed
forward to shake hands with us over the dock rail, and
there were loud cries of " Bravo, jury I" Presently we
descended to the Inferno again, from which we were
conducted by a long subterranean passage to Newgate
prison.

Judge North's action was simply vindictive. Ever
if we were guilty our offence was only a misdemeanor.
We had been out on bail from the beginning of tht.
prosecution, we had duly surrendered to trial, after the
jury's disagreement we really stood in a better position
than before, and there was not the slightest reason to
suppose that we might abscond. On the other hand

84 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

was clear that we were fighting against long odds. The
rich City Corporation was prosecuting us regardless of
expense, and their case was conducted by three of the
most skilful lawyers in London. Reason, justice and
humanity, alike demanded that we should enjoy freedom
and comfort while marshalling our resources for a fresh,
battle. Judge North, however thought, otherwise ; in
his opinion we required a different kind of " opportu-
nity.^* He locked us up in a prison cell, excluded us
from light and air, deprived us of all communication
with each other, and debarred us from all intercourse
with the outside world except during fifteen minutes each
day through an iron grating. Such malignity is an un-
pardonable crime in a judge. There may have been
some bad criminals in Newgate when I entered it, but
I w:ould rather have embraced the worst of them than
have touched the hand of Judge North.

CHAPTER VIII.

NEWGATE.

The subterranean passage through which Mr. Ramsey,
Mr. Kemp, Mr. Cattell, and I were conducted from the
Old Bailey dock to Newgate prison, was long and tor-
tuous, and two or three massive doors were unlocked
and relocked for our transit before we emei^ed into
the courtyard. In the darkness the lofty walls looked
grimly frowning, and I imagined what feelings must
possess the ordinary criminal who passes under their
black shadow to his first night's taste of imprisonment.
Another massive door was opened in the wall of New-
gate, and we were ushered into what at first sight ap-
peared a large hall. It was really the interior of the
prison. Glancing up, I saw dimly-lighted corridors,
'Unning round tier on tier of cell-doors, and connected

NEWGATE. 85

by light, graceful staircases ; a clear view of every door
being commanded from the office at the west end of
the ground-floor.

We were invited one by one into a side office, where
we inscribed our names in a big book. A dapper little
officer, who treated me with a queer mixture of autho-
rity and respectfulness, wrote out my description as
though he were filling in a passport. I was very much
amused, and finding he was not too precise in his ob-
servations, I corrected and supplemented them in a
good-humored manner.

After completing this task he requested me to deliver
up the contents of my pockets. Having passed nearly
all my money to Mr. Wheeler, I had little to deposit.
Some prisoners, however, are less careful. The officer
told me that he occasionally received as much as ten or
twelve pounds from one visitor, although the majority
were almost penniless. My small change was carefully
counted by us both, and when it was stowed in my
purse, I put my signature under the amount in the
register.

Then followed my other belongings. I had stupidly
brought a bunch of keys, which the officer eyed very
suspiciously. Keys in a prison! The official mind
might well be alarmed. Next came some letters and
telegrams I had received while in Court, and a lead
pencil, which I took from my breast-pocket.

" Anything more in that pocket ?" said the officer,
catching hold of the coat-lappet, and attempting to in-
sert his hand.

" I beg pardon," I replied, disengaging his hand and
stepping back ; " I can do that myself. See I" I said,
turning my pocket inside out.

He was satisfied, but slightly annoyed. The man
was simply doing his duty, and I daresay he showed
me far more courtesy than other prisoners were treated
with. Yet the process of searching is unspeakably re-
volting, and I shrank from it instinctively ; taking
care, however, by my rapid gestures to render it un-
necessary.

Prisoners are regularly searched in Holloway Gaol
as well as in other penal establishments ; and beii

86 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

nnder the ordinary prison regulations, like other
''coavicted criminals," I was of coarse subjected
to the indignity. I must in candor admit that the
officers made it as little offensiye as possible in my
case ; yet the touch of a man's hand about one's person
is so repulsive, that I always had great difficulty in
suppressing my indignation. If an officer owes a
prisoner a grudge, he is able (especially if the man is
a little more refined than the general run of his asso-
ciates) to render the searching an almost intolerable
infliction. Sometimes the prisoners are stripped to
their drawers or shirts, without any particular reason ;
and the process can even be carried farther, until they
are in a state of complete nudity. On one occasion this
experiment was attempted on me, but I declined to
submit to it, and the brace of officers (they always
search in pairs, to prevent collusion) shrank from
employing force.

All the requisite formalities being transacted, I was
supplied with a pair of sheets and a duster; and
carrying these on my arm, I was conducted upstairs to
my apartment. Before leaving, however, I shook hands
with my companions, although it was in direct defiance
of the " rules and regulations."

My cell was Number One. It was considered the
place of honor. I was informed that it was once
tenanted by the elder of two famous brother forgers,
who spent three weeks there preparing his defence and
writing an extraordinary number of letters. This
information was communicated to me with an air of
solemnity, as though so eminent a criminal had left
behind him the flavor of his greatness, and had in some
measure consecrated the spot.

The gas was lit, and the officer withdrew, banging
the door as he went. He seemed to love the sound,
and I subsequently discovered that this was a charac-
teristic of his tribe. Only two men in HoUoway Gaol
ever shut my door gently. They were the gallant
Governor and a clerical locum tenens who officiated
during the chaplain's frequent absence in search of
recreation or health. Colonel Milman closed the door
like a gentleman. Mr. Stubbs closed it like an under-

NEWGATE. 87

ta^er. He was the most nervous man I ever met*
Bat I mnst not anticipate. More of him anon.

Prison cells, I had always known, are rather narrow
apartments, bnt the realisation was nevertheless a
rough one. My domicile, which included kitchen,
bedroom, sitting-room and water-closet, was about ten
feet long, six feet wide, and nine feet high. At the
end opposite the door there was a window, containing
perhaps three square feet of thick opaque glass.
Attached to the wall on the left side was a flap-table,
about two feet by one, and under it a low stool. In
the right comer, behind the door, were a couple of
narrow semi-circular shelves, containing a wooden
salt-cellar full of ancient salt, protected from the air
and dust by a brown paper lid, through which a piece
of knotted string was passed to serve as a knob. The
walls were whitewashed, and hanging against them
were a pair of printed csuids, which on examination I
found to be the dietary scale and the rules and regula-
tions. The floor was black and shiny. It was probably
concreted, and I discovered the next day that it was
blackleaded and polished. Finally I detected an iron
ring in each wall, facing each other, about two feet
from the ground. " What are these for ?" I thought.
" They would be convenient for hanging if they were
three feet higher. Perhaps they are placed there to
tantalise desperate unfortunates who might be disposed
to terminate their misery and wish the world an eternal
"Good Night!"

As I paced up and down my cell, full of the thought,
" I am in prison, then," my curiosity was excited by a
large urn-looking object in the right corner under the
window, just below a water-tap and copper basin. I had
noticed it before, but I fancied it was some antique relic
of Old Newgate. Examining it closely, I found it had
a hinged lid, and on lifting this my nose was assailed
by a powerful smell, which struck me as about the
most ancient I had ever encountered. This earthenware
fixture was in reality a water-closet, and I imagined it
must have communicated direct with the main drain-
age. A more unwholesome and disgusting companion
in one's room is difficult to conceive. I believe thes'-

88 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

filthy monstrosities still exist in Newgate, although
they are abolished in other prisons. Yet it pnzzles one
to understand why prisoners awaiting trial should be
poisoned by such a diabolical invention any more than
prisoners who have been convicted and sentenced.

Just as I finished inspecting this monument of
official ingenuity, I heard a heavy footstep along the
corridor, and presently a key was inserted in my lock.
It "grated harsh thunder" as it turned. The door
was flung open abruptly, without any consideration
whether I might be standing near it, and an official
entered, who turned out to be the chief warder. He
was a polite, handsome man of five-and-forty, with a
fine pair of dark eyes and a handsome black beard.
During my brief residence in Newgate he treated me with
marked civility, and sometimes engaged in a few
minutes' conversation. In one of these brief inter-
views he told me that he had officiated at fourteen
executions, and devoutly hoped he might never witness
another, his feelings on every occasion having been of
the most horrible character. I also found that he was
fond of a book, although he had little leisure for read-
ing or any other recreation. He looked longingly at
my well-printed copy of Byron ; but what impressed
him most was my little collection of law books,
especially Folkard's fat "Law of Libel," which he
regarded with the awe and veneration of a bibliolater,
suddenly confronting a gigantic mystery of erudition.

This worthy officer came to tell me that my " friend
with the big head" had just called to see what he
could do for us. "Big-head" was Mr. Bradlaugh.
The description was facetious but by no means un-
complimentary. Our meals had been ordered in from
" over the way," and I might expect some refreshment
shortly. While he was speaking it was brought up.
He then left me, and I devoured the coffee and toast
with great avidity. My appetite was far from appeased,
but I had to content myself with what was given me,
for prison warders look as surprised as Bumble him-
self at a request for " more."

When the slender meal was dispatched, the chief-
warder paid me another visit to instruct me how to

roost XTEifa' i» :sixQiiiL I ^isas7rr»*i 317- ±r« >s?soq >i
prison iKd-m^ine: A srip if ducjf ,sul'';k^ >%:i^
stretched acroB di» 'asil aui ±iBGBaieii jc ^acii ^u«I >v
leather stzaps rTmnm^ :iirnriiga '^iifie my^ofnuos r«:3|{^
A coarse ^£€C was Julgt l hl :his» zirtai 1 r-joiri jIx'^t*^
and finally ^ ^eve-ii&B ^gjmiufa rgaPi? : die wa*Ji«} ^^^r^.u-^
ing a Tcry fiir "mriJM.i£iw ^ ^ ^.g'^ isMTrmuck^ I. ^id^
by no meaaji an TimwHUhiranLt* agp«ari:ic«^ jia^i Kv '^
extremely &c;p9d* I :ii0iig!n: I wiicLd r«ir« ;c r«t?t. l^t^
directly I es^ed 31 la w 317 3^cicLes b**^»aL AVb.oi^
I tried to sec <rl dte bed ic canoed c^r«r 3a*i vieixv.^ A\t
me on die floor. ^TgfcrTy ^fci^wi^ bn:: Tiocbrn^ vU;jiv;\\U
I made aoodier acaanpt wisk a gyTnriar rv«$ul;. Vh^
third time was txcky. I clrc i iJJiiw istfd *h<? v^tv<;iuN^^%^
enemy by moantm^ c&fr aCQ«:l and slowtr iu^i^ixiu.xi^
myself between die ^eecs. izn::il a£ I^c^th 1 xv^ t'^ivv>
ensconcedy Ijing 'ttnap^r <hi my bacl: Uk^ A \>¥\xiu^
Btatne or a corpse. For a few mom^nt» 1 nnu^uusl
perfectly still enjoying my trinmph. l>^w^wU\ * hs^w-
ever, I feh rath^* cold at the feei« anvl i>ix ^lAUo'uv^
down I saw that my lower extremiU^ \\'tM\^ akiU'VvukS
out. I raised myself digjitly in oar\l«r to ivvtw lU^^uv*
bnt the morement was fatal ; the b<cHl i^^uivxl \^^\\\ \
was again at large. This time I had st^xiou^ th\^\^K)^<*» n^^
sleeping on the flora-, bnt as it w^as h^^nl \^\\\\ \^\M \
abandoned the idea. I laborionsly ^^lutnl u^> \\^^\
position, taking dne precantions for my fo^t \\\\^\ \S
whilelgrewaccnstomed to the oaeiUutlou, l^Mt \ \\^s\\
to face another CTil. The olothwi kt^j^t hH\n\lh« wWx
and more than once I followed in trjlutf U\ \v\'\\\\^\
them. At last, I found a firm poHUUn\, \\\\\^\v \ \\s\
still, clntching the refractory sheeta »Uil hU\uKoi«. \\\\\
I soon experienced a fresh evil. The ouuviu ^\\\\\ \\\\n
very narrow, and as my shonUlorn \vt»rt» ^m»/, \\\\^\
abutted on each side, courting the cn^UI, M\nu IhlN
difficulty I finally conquered by gyuumntlo wulillnllnN,
Warmth and comfort produced their \\\^\Mm\ \'\\M,
My brain was busy for a few mlnuten, 'rhoUHlilw \\t
my wife and the few I loved beat muda we wonmnUh,
but a recollection of the malignant Judge Imnltiiied intt
and I clenched my teeth. Then Nature aaaerieil lier
sway. Weary eyelids drooped over weary eyea, nud

90 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

through a phantasmagoria of the trial I gradually sank
into a feverish sleep.

I was aroused in the morning by the six o'clock bell.
It was pitch dark in my cell except for the faint
glimmer of a distant lamp through the thick window-
panes. A few minntes later a little sqnare flap in the
centre of my door was let down with a startling bang ;
a small hand-lamp was thrust through the aperture,
and a gruff voice cried " Now, then, get up and light
your gas : look sharp.** I cannot say that I made any
indecent haste. My gas was lit very leisurely, and as
I returned the lamp I saw a scowling visage outside
The man was evidently exasperated by my "passive
resistance/'

My ablutions were performed in a copper basin not
much larger than a porridge bowl ; indeed, it was
impossible to insert both hands at once. There was,
of course, no looking-glass, and as the three-inch cOmb
was densely clogged with old deposits, my toilet was
completed under considerable difficulties. I never
combed my hair with my fingers before, but on that
occasion I was obliged to resort to those primitive
rakes.

When I was finally ready, the chief warder sum-
moned me downstairs to be weighed and measured.
My height was five feet ten in my shoes, and my
weight twelve stone nine and a half in my clothes.

At eight o'clock breakfast came. It consisted of
coffee, eggs and toast. At half -past eight we were
taken out to exercise. What a delight it was to see
each other's faces again I And how refreshing to
breathe even the atmosphere of a City courtyard after
being locked up for so many hours in a stifling cell.

The other prisoners were already outside, and we
had to pass through the court in which they were exer-
cising to reach the one considerately allotted for our
special use. They presented a cheerless spectacle.
Silently and sadly, with drooping heads, they skirted
the walls in Indian file ; a couple of officers standing
in the centre to see that no communication went on
between them. Many eyes were lifted to gaze at us as
we passed. Some winked, and a few looked insolent

NEWGATE. 91

contempt, bnt the majority expressed nothing but
curiosity.

Our courtyard was about thirty feet" by twenty. It
was stone-paved, with a door leading to the Old Bailey
at one end, and a row of high iron bars at the other.
The air was brisk, and the sky tolerably clear for the
place and season. Our pent-up energies required a
vent, and we rushed round like caged animals suddenly
loosened. " Gently," cried our good-natured custodian ;
but we paid little heed to his admonition ; our blood
was up, and we raced each other until we were wearied
of the pastime.

Presently I heard my name called, and on advancing
to the spot whence the voice issued, I saw Mr. Brad-
laugh's face through the iron bars. After a few minutes'
conversation he made way for Mrs. Besant. She was
quite unprepared for such an interview. Her idea was
that she would be able to shake hands ; I, however,
knew better, and for that reason I had forbidden my
wife to visit me, preferring her letters to her company
in such wretched circumstances. Mrs. Besant was par-
ticularly cordial. " We are all proud," she said, ** of
the brave fight you made yesterday." How the time
slipped by I When she retired it seemed as though our
conversation had but just opened.

I was only entitled to receive two visitors, but by a
generous arithmetic Mr. Bradlaugh and Mrs. Besant
were counted as one. Mr. Wheeler was therefore able
to see me on business. We had much to arrange, and
the result was that I enjoyed scarcely more than half
an hour's exercise. Surely it is a grievous wrong that
a prisoner awaiting trial should be allowed such brief
interviews with his friends, especially when he is de-
fending himself, and may require to consult them.
And is it not a still more grievous wrong that these
interviews should take place during the exercise hour ?
There is no reason why they should not be kept sepa-
rate ; indeed there is no reason why the inmates of
Newgate should not be allowed to exercise twice a day.
No work is done in the prison, and marshalling the
prisoners is not so laborious a task that it cannot be
performed more than once in twenty-four hours.

92 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

At the expiration of our miserable sixty minntes we
were marched back to our cells ; but we were scarcely
under lock and key again before we were summoned
to the Old Bailey, the officer telling us that he thought
they were going to grant us bail. We were conducted
through the subterranean passage to the Old Bailey
dock-stairs. Standing out of sight, but not out of hear-
ing, we listened to Mr. Avory's application for bail on
behalf of Mr. Eemp. Judge North refused in cold,
vindictive tones ; he had evidently let the sun go down
on his wrath, and rise on it again. Mr. Avory there-
upon asked whether he made no difference between
convicted and unconvicted prisoners. " None in this
case," was his lordship's brutal and supercilious answer ;
and then we were hurried back to our cells.

My apartment was execrably dark. It was situated
in an angle of the building ; there was a wall on the
right and another in front, so that only a little light
fell on the right wall of my cell near the window.
After severely trying my eyes for two or three hours, I
was obliged to make an application for gas, which, after
some hesitation, was granted. But I found the remedy
almost wot*se than the evil. Sitting all day at the little
flap-table, with my head about ten inches from the gas-
light, made me feel sick and dizzy. Mr. Ramsey, as I
afterwards discovered, was made quite ill by a similar
nuisance, and the chief warder was obliged to release
him for a brief walk in the open air. I applied the
next morning for a fresh cell, and was duly accommo-
dated. My new apartment was very much lighter, but
the change was in other respects a disadvantage. The
closet was fouler, and as the lid was a remarkably bad
fit, it emitted a more obtrusive smell. The copper basin
also was filled with dirty water, which would not flow
away, as the waste-pipe was stopped up. To remedy
these defects they brought the engineer, who strenu-
ously exercised his intellect on the subject for three
days ; but as he exercised nothing on the waste-pipe, I
insisted on having the copper basin baled out, and
secured a bucket for my ablutions.

During my first day in Newgate, the officers occa-
sionally dropped in for a minute's chat with such an

NEWGATE. 93

unnsnal prisoner. I found them for the most part
" good fellows," and singularly free from the bigotry
of their " betters." The morning papers also helped
to wile away the time. I was pleased to see that the
Daily News rebuked the scandalous severity of the
judge, and that the reports of our trial were reasonably
fair, although very inadequate. The Daily Chronicle
was under an embargo, and could not be obtained for
love or money ; the reason being, I believe, that many
years ago it commented severely on some prison scandal,
and provoked the high and mighty Commissioners into
laying their august proscription upon it. All the
weekly papers, or at least the Radical ones I inquired
for, were under a similar embargo, for what reason I
could never discover. Perhaps the Commissioners, who
enjoy a reputation for piety, exclude Radical and hete-
rodox journals lest they should impair the Christianity
and Toryism of the gaol-birds.

Many letters reached me and were answered, so that
my time was well occupied until twelve, when dinner
was brought in from " over the way." Being well-nigh
ravenous, I dispatched it with great celerity, washing
it down with a little mild ale. Prisoners awaiting trial
are allowed (if they can pay for it) a pint of that
beverage, or half a pint of wine.

After dinner 1 felt drowsy, and as there was no sofa
or chair, and no back to the little three-legged stool, I
was obliged to dispense with a nap. I walked up and
down my splendid hall instead, longing desperately for
a mouthful of fresh air by way of dessert, or a few
minutes' chat with my friends, who I dare say were in
exactly the same predicament.

Tea, which came at five, brightened me up, and as
Mr. Whealer had by this time sent in all my books and
papers, I settled down to three hours' hard work. The
worthy Governor, a tall sedate man, did not like the
titles of some of my books, and inquired whether I
really wanted them for my defence. I replied that I
did. " Then," said he to the chief warder, " they may
all be brought up, but you must take care they don't
get about." At half -past eight, according to the rules,
I retired to my precarious and uncomfortable couch ; a

94 PBISONEB FOR BLASPHEMY.

few minntes later my gas was turned off, and I was
left in almost total darkness to seek the sleep which I
soon found. Thus ended my first day in Newgate.

My second day in Newgate passed like the first.
Prison life affords few variations ; the days roll by with
drear monotony like wave after wave over a spent
swimmer's head. We enjoyed Judge North's " oppor-
tunity " to prepare our fresh defence in the way I have al-
ready described. We were locked up in our brick vaults
twenty -three hours out of the twenty-four ; we walked
for an hour after breakfast in the courtyard ; and the
fifteen minutes allowed for the " interview with two
visitors " was, as before, religiously deducted from the
sixty minutes allowed for "exercise." Mr. Wheeler
sent in more books and papers, and I devoted my whole
time, except that occupied in answering letters, to pre-
paring another speech for Monday.

Sunday was a miserably dull day. No visits are
allowed in that sacred interval, a regulation which
presses with great severity on the poorer prisoners,
whose relatives and friends are freer to visit them on
Sunday than during the week.

The confinement was beginning to tell on me. My
life had been exceptionally active, physically and
mentally, and this prison life was as stagnant as the air
of my cell. Thus " cabin'd cribbed, confined," I felt
all my vital functions half arrested. Dejection I did
not experience ; my spirits were light and fresh ; but
the body revolted against its ill-treatment, and recorded
its protest on the conscious brain.

How grateful was the brief hour's exercise on the
Sunday morning 1 The muf&ed roar of the great city
was hushed, and the silence served to emphasise every
Visual phenomenon. Even the air of that city court-
yard, hemmed in by lofty walls, seemed a breath of
Paradise. I threw back my shoulders, expanding the
chest through mouth and nostrils, and lifted my face
to the sky. A pale gleam of sunshine pierced tlurough
the canopy of London smoke. It might have looked
ghastly to a resident in the country, unused to the light
London calls day, but to one immured in a prison cell
it was an irradiation of glory. The mind expanded

NEWGATE. 95

under the lustre ; imagination preened its wings, and
sped beyond the haze into the everlasting blue.

GMlant Lovelace, in durance vile, boasted his un-
fettered mind, and sang —

'* Stone walk do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage."

True, but the model prison was not invented then, nor
was the silent system in vogue. Lovelace's apartment
was, perhaps, not so scrupulously clean as mine, but it
commanded a finer prospect. He knew nothing of the
horror of opaque windows, and his iron bars did not
exclude the air and light.

At eleven o'clock my cell door was opened, and an
officer asked me if I would like to go to chapel. " Yes,'*
I replied, for I was curious to see what a religious ser-
vice in Newgate was like, and any interruption of the
day's monotony was welcome.

Standing outside my cell door, I perceived Mr. Ram-
sey, Mr. Kemp, and I^. Cattell already outside theirs.
The few other prisoners still remaining in Newgate
(they are transferred to other prisons as soon as pos-
sible after sentence) were ranged in a similar manner.
A file was then formed, and we marched, accompanied
by officers, through a passage on the ground floor to the
chapel, passing on our way the glass boxes in which
prisoners hold communication with their solicitors. An
officer stands outside during the interview : he can
hear nothing, but he is able to see every motion of the
occupants; the object of this mechanism being to
guard against the passage of any interdicted articles.

The chapel was small, lighted by a large window on
the left side from the door, and warmed by a moun-
tainous stove in the centre. A few backless forms were
provided on the floor for unconvicted prisoners. We
were accommodated with the front bench, and re-
quested to sit two or three feet apart from each other,
the few other prisoners occupying seats behind us being-
separated in the same way. The convicted prisoners
sit in a railed-off part of the chapel, and I believe there
is a gallery for the women. On our right, facing the
window, was a pulpit, below which was the clerk's

96 PRISONEB FOR BLASPHEMY.

desk, flanked on the right by the Governor's box and
on the left by a seat for the officers.

After waiting some time, we heard footsteps at the
door. In strode the tall Governor and the Chaplain,
the one entering his box, and the other going to the
clerk's desk, where he read the service, which was
rushed through at the rate of sixty miles an hour. Mr.
Duffeld started the hymns, but his voice is not melo-
dious, and he has little sense of tune. The singing,
indeed, would have broken down if it had not been for
the Francatelli of the establishment, who had exchanged
his kitchen costume for the offical uniform, and sang
with the fervor and emphasis of a Methodist leader or
a captain in the Salvation Army.

Mr. Duffeld mounted the pulpit to read his sermon.
His text was Matthew vii., 21 : " Not everyone that
saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my father
which is in heaven." This text caused me a pleasant
surprise. I had heard of Mr. Duffeld as a member of,
or a sympathiser with, the Guild of St. Matthew ; and
I fancied that he meant to condemn our. prosecution,
not directly, so as to offend his employers, but indi-
rectly, so as to justify himself and satisfy us. I was,
however, greviously mistaken. Mr. Duffeld's sermon
was directed against the large order of "professing
Christians," who manage a pretty easy compromise be-
tween God and Mammon, between Jesus Christ and
the world and the flesh, if not the Devil. It had no
reference to us, and it was entirely inappropriate to
the rest of the congregation, who, I must say, from the
casual glimpses I caught of them, were glancing about
aimless as monkeys, or staring listless like melancholy
monomaniacs.

When the benediction was pronounced, Mr. Duffeld
marched swiftly away ; the tall Governor strode after
him, and the prisoners filed in silence through the
doorway back to their cells. What a commentary it
was on " Our Father I" It was a ghastly mockery, a
blasphemous farce, a satire on Christianity infinitely
more sardonic and mordant than anything I ever wrote
or published. Soon after returning to my cell I was

NEWGATE. 97

glad of the substantial dinner and drowsy ale to deaden
the bitter edge of my scorn.

After tea I settled down to the final preparations for
my defence. My gas was left on for an extra hour to
afford me the time I required. It was half- past nine
when I retired to my hammock, Everything was then
finished except the interview I had requested with my
co-defendants. This the Governor was powerless to
grant. He had applied to the visiting magistrates, who
protested the same inability. A " petition " had then
been forwarded to the Home Secretary, but no answer
had been received. While I was pondering this diffi-
culty, my cell door was suddenly opened, and the
Governor entered. Apologising for disturbing me UU'
ceremoniously at that unseasonable hour, he informed
me that a messenger from the Home Office had brought
the necessary permission for our interview. It took
place the next morning. We had just thirty minutes
to arrange our plan for the approaching battle, the con-
sultation being held in the courtyard before breakfast.
The time was of course absurdly inadequate. We had
a just claim to better treatment, Mr. Ramsey, Mr. Keoip
and I ; we were charged with the same ofiEence ; we
pleaded to a common indictment ; we stood together in
the same dock ; we were involved in the same fate ;
and witnesses would be called against us all three in-
differently. Surely, then, as the jury had disagreed
once, and we had to defend ourselves afresh, we were
entitled to proper conference with our papers before
ns. This alfresco chat was the last of Judge North's
" opportunities." At ten o'clock we were once more
in the Old Bailey dock, fronting the judge and jury,
surrounded by an eager crowd, and beginning a second
fight for liberty and perhaps for life.

98 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

CHAPTER IX.

THE SECOND TBIAL.

Befobb I had been in the Old Bailey dock two minutes
on the morning of my second trial, I found that our
case was hopeless. The names of no less than four
jurymen were handed to me by friends in court, every
one of whom had been heard to declare that he meant
to bring in a verdict of Guilty. One of these impartial
guardians of English liberty had stated, in a public-
house, his intention to " make it hot for tiie Free-
thinkers." How many more had uttered similar
sentiments it is impossible to say, but it is reasonable
to suppose that, if four were discovered by my friends,
there were others who had escaped their detection.
One of the four, a Mr Thomas Jackson, was called on
the jury list. I at once challenged him. He was then
put into the witness-box, and on examination he ad-
mitted that he " had expressed an opinion adverse to
the defendants in this case."

Then ensued a bit of comedy between Judge North
and Sir Hardinge Giflferd, who both assumed a wonder-
ful air of impartiality.

"Judge North : Sir Hardinge, is it not better to withdraw this
juryman at once ? Whatever the verdict of the jury, I should be
sorry to have a man among them who had expressed himself as
prejudiced.

Sir Hardinge Giffard : Oh yes, my lord ; I withdraw him. It
will be much more satisfactory to the Crown and everybody else
concerned."

" I withdraw him," says Sir Hardinge ; " I should be
sorry to have him," says the Judge ; both evidently
feeling that they were making a generous concession in
the interests of justice. But as a matter of fact they
had no choice. Mr. Thomas Jackson could no more
sit on that jury after my challenge than he could fly
over the moon. I smiled at the pretended generosity
of these legal cronies, and said to myself, *' Thank you
for nothing."

Mr. Thomas Jackson^s exit made no practical differ-
ence. I felt, I will not say that the jury was packed^

THE SECOND TRIAL. 99

but that it was admirably adapted to the end in view.
Ours being the only case for trial that day, it was not
difficult to accomplish this result. A friend of mine
said to one of the officers of the conrt before I entered
the dock, *' Well, how is the case going to-day ? "
" Oh," was the prompt reply, " they are sure to con-
vict." He knew the character of the jury.

Some of the " twelve men and true " had not even
the decency to attend to the proceedings. One was
timed by a friend in court— dead asleep for sixty
minutes. When that juryman awoke his mind was
made up on the case. At the conclusion of a trial
that lasted over six hours they did not even retire for
consultation. They stood up, faced each other,
muttered together for about a minute, nodded their
heads affirmatively, and then sat down and gave a
verdict of guilty.

Several of the jury, however, I am bound to admit,
had no idea that Judge North would inflict upon us
such infamous sentences, and they were quite shocked
at the consequences of their verdict. Four of them
subsequently signed the memorial for our release. A
fifth juryman vehemently declined to do so. " No,"
he said, ** not I. I'm a man of principle I They got
off too easy. Two years' hard labor wouldn't have
been a bit too much." This pious gentleman is a pub-
lican in Soho, and bears the name of a famous mur-
derer, Wainwright.

But to return. Mr. Ramsey and I were represented
this time on all legal points by counsel. Mr. Cluer
watched our interests vigilantly, and performed a diffi-
cult task with great courage and judgment. He bore
Judge North's insults with wonderful patience. " Don't
mind what you think about it, Mr. Cluer," ^ I don't
want you to tell me what you think ; " such were the
flowers of courtesy strewed from the bench upon Mr.
Cluer's path. Our counsel's colleague in the case was
Mr. Horace Avory, who represented Mr. Eemp. He
also had a somewhat onerous duty to perform.

There is no need to deal with ttie technical evidence
against us. It was of the usual character, and we
merely cross-examined the witnesses as a matter of ,

100 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

form. One thing was brought out clearly. Sir Henry
Tyler's solicitors were aiding Sir Thomas Nelson, and
their clerks were produced as witnesses against us.

Judge North's reception of evidence was peculiar.
Knowing that there was no Court of Criminal Appeal,
he set the rules of procedure at defiance. Any tittle-
tattle was admitted, and postmen and servants were
allowed to swear as to the directions on unproduced
documents alleged to have been addressed to me. When,
several weeks later, I was tried a third time in the
Court of Queen's Bench, I heard Lord Coleridge rebuke
the prosecuting counsel for attempting to put questions
against which Judge North would hear no objection. I
understand now how much prisoners are at the mercy
of judges, and I feel how much truth there was in the
remark I once heard from a prisoner in Holloway Oaol,
that " it's often a toss up whether you get one y^r or
seven,"

Let me here also ask why Mr. Fawcett, the late Post-
master-General, allowed his letter-carriers to be em-
ployed as detectives in such a case. It was proved in
evidence that a policeman had called at the West-
Central Post Office, and obtained an interview with
the manager, after which the letter-carriers were
instructed to spy upon my correspondence. Mr.
Fawcett subsequently denied that the letter-carriers
had ever been so instructed ; but in that case the Post
Office witnesses must have committed perjury. I do
not believe it. I am confident that they merely obeyed
orders, and that the scandalous abuse of a public trust
must be charged upon the district postmaster, who pro-
bably thinks any weapon is legitimate against IVee-
thinkers. As Mr. Fawcett refused to censure the post-
master for exceeding his duty, or the letter-carrier for
committing perjury, I cannot hold him altogether guilt-
less in the matter.

In opening my defence I took care to accentuate my
appreciation of Judge North's kindness, as the follow-
ing passage will show : —

" Gentlemen of the Jury, — I stand in a position of great diflSculty
and disadvantage. On Thursday last I defended myself against
the very same charges in the very same indictment. The case

THE SECOND TRIAL. 101

lasted nearly seven hours, and the jury retired for more than two
hours without being able to come to an agreement. They were
then discharged, and the learned judge said he would try the
case again on Monday with a new jury. As I had been out on
bail from my committal, and as I stood in the same position after
that abortive trial as before it commenced, I asked the learned
judge to renew my bail, but he refused. I pleaded that I should
have no opportunity to prepare my defence, and I was peremp-
torily told I should have the same opportunity as I had had that
day. Well, gentlemen, I have enjoyed the leamedjudge^s oppor-
tunity. I have spent all the weary hours since Thursday, with
the exception of the three allowed for bodily exercise during the
whole interval, in a small prison cell six feet wide, and so dark
that 1 could neither write nor read at midday without the aid of
gaslight. There was around me no sign of the animated life I
am accustomed to, nothing but the loathsome sights and sounds
of prison life. And in these trying and depressing circumstances
I have had to prepare to defend myself in a new trial against
two junior counsel and a senior counsel, who have had no diffi-
culties to contend with, who have behind them the wealth and
authority of the greatest and richest Corporation in the world,
and who might even walk out of court in the perfect assurance that
the prosecution would not be allowed to suffer in their absence.^*

Those who wish to read the whole of my defence, which
lasted over two hours, will find it in the " Three Trials
for Blasphemy." One portion of it, at least, is likely
to be of permanent interest. With Mr. Wheeler's aid
I drew up a long list of the abusive epithets applied by
Christian controversialists to their Pagan opponents or
to each other. It fills more than two pages of small
type, and pretty nearly exhausts the vocabulary of
vituperation. I added a few pearls of orthodox abuse
of Atheism, and then asked the jury whether Christians
had taught Freethinkers to show respect for their
opponents' feelings. "Nobody in this country," I
continued, "whatever his religion, is called upon to
respect the feelings of anybody else. It is only the
Freethinker who is told to respect the feelings of
people from whom he diflEers. And to respect them
how ? Not when he enters their places of worship,
not when he stands side by side with them in the
business and pleasures of life, but when he reads
what is written for Freethinkers without knowing
that a pair of Christian eyes will ever scan the page."

102 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

It may be asked why I adopted a coarse so little
likely to conciliate my judges. My reply is that I did
not try to conciliate them. Feeling convinced that
their verdict was already settled, and that my fate was
sealed, I cast all such considerations aside, and
deliberately made a speech for my own party. I was
resolved that my loss should be the gain of Free-
thonght.

The peroration is the only other part of my defence
I shall venture to quote. It ran as follows :

_ " Gentlemen, carry your minds back across the chasm of
eighteen centimes and a half. You are in Jerusalem. A young
Jew is haled along the street to the place of judgment. He
stands before his judge; he is accused — of what, gentlemen?
You know what he is accused of — the word must be springing to
your lips — Blasphemy ! Every Christian among you knows that
your founder, Jesus Christ, was crucified after being charged With
blasphemy. Gentlemen, it seems to me that no Christian should
ever find a man guilty of blasphemy after that, but that the very
word ought to be wiped from your vocabulary, as a reproach and a
scandal Christians, your founder was murdered as a blasphemer,
for, although done judicially, it was still a murder. Surely then
you wiU not, when you have secured the possession of power,
imitate the bad example of those who killed your founder, violate
men's liberties, rob them of all that is perhaps dearest to them,
and brand them with a stigma of public infamy by a verdict
from the jury-box! Surely gentlemen, it is impossible that you
can do that ! Who are we .* Three poor men. Are we wicked ?
No, there is no proof of the charge. Our honor and honesty are
unimpeached. It is not for us to play the Pharisee and say that
we are better than other men. We only say that we are no
worse. What have we done to be classed with thieves and
felons, dragged from our homes and submitted to the indignities
of a life so loathsome and hideous, that it is even revolting to the
spirits of the men who have to exercise authority within the
precincts of the gaol? You know we have done nothing to
merit such a punishment. Gentlemen, you ought to return a
verdict of Not Guilty against us, because the prosecution have
not given you sufficient evidence as to the fact ; because what-
ever legal bigotry is gained from the decisions of judges in the
past must be treated as obsolete, as the London magistrate
treated the law of Maintenance ; because we have done nothing,
as the indictment states, against the peace ; because our pro-
ceedings have led to no tumult in the streets, no interference
with the liberty of any man, his person or property ; because no
evidence has been tendered to you of any malice in our case ; be-

THE SEGOyD TRIAL. 103

cause there is no wicked motive in anthing we have done;
because the founder of your own creed was murdered on a veiy
similar charge to that of which we stand accused now ; and,
lastly, because you should in this third quarter of the nineteenth
century assert once and for ever the great principle of the
absolute freedom of each man, unless he trench on the equal
freedom of others. I ask you to assert the great principle of the
liberty of the press, liberty of the platform, liberty or thought
and liberty of speech ; I ask you to prevent such prosecutions as
are hinted at in the Times this morning ; I ask you not to allow
sects once more to be hurling anathemas against each other, and
flying to the magistrates to settle questions which should be
settied by intellectual and moral suasion ; I ask you not to open
a discrecQtable chapter of English history that ought to have been
closed for ever ; I ask you to give us a verdict of Not Guilty, to
send us back to our homes and to stamp your brand of dis-
approbation on this prosecution, which is degrading religion by
associating it with all that is pexial, obstructive, and loathsome ;
I ask you to let us go away from here free men, and so make it
impossible that there ever should again be a prosecution for
blasphemy ; I ask you to have your names inscribed in history
as the last jury that decided for ever that great and grand
principle of liberty which is broader than aU the skies ; a
principle so high that no temple could be lofty enough for its
worship; that grand principle which should rule over all — the
^inciple of the equal right and the equal liberty of all men.
That is the principle I ask you to assert by your verdict of Not
Guilty. Gentiemen, I ask you to close this discreditable chapter
of persecution once and for ever, and associate your names on
the page of history with liberty, progress, and everything that is
dignified, noble and dear to the consciences and hearts of
men-"

When I sat down there was a burst of applause,
which the court officials were unable to suppress. Mr.
Ramsey followed with another written speech, well
composed and very much to the point. I noticed some
of his auditors outside the jury-box choking down
their emotion as he touchingly referred to his sleepless
nights in Newgate through thinking of wife and child
His Lordship, I observed only smiled bitterly.

Judge North's summing up was a fraudulent per-
formance. He told the jury that the consent of the
Attorney-General had to be obtained for our prosecu-
tion, as well as that of the Public Prosecutor, which
was a downright falsehood, unless it was a piece of
sheer ignorance. He pretended to read the whole

104 PBISONER FOB BLASPHEMY.

chapter on Offences against Religion in Sir James
Stephen's "Digest of the Criminal Law," while in
reality he deliberately omitted the very paragraph
which damned his contention and supported mine.
He also produced a new statement of the Law of
Blasphemy to suit the occasion. On the previoas
Thursday he told the jury that any denial of the exis-
tence of Deity or of Providence was blasphemy. But
in the meantime the public press had condemned this
interpretation of the law as dangerous to high-class
heretics. His lordship, therefore, expounded the law
afresh, so as to exempt them while including us. The
only question he now submitted to the jury was, " Are
any of those passages put before you calculated to
expose to ridicule, contempt or derision the Holy
Scriptures or the Christian religion ? " This amended
statement of the Law of Blasphemy went directly in
the teeth of our Indictment, which charged us with
bringing Holy Scripture and the Christian Religion
into disbelief as well as contempt. The fact is, blas-
phemy is a judge-made crime, and the " blasphemer's "
fate depends very largely on who tries him. Lord
Coleridge holds one view of the law, Sir James Stephen
another, and Justice North another still. Nay, the last
judge differs even from himself. He can give two
various definitions of the law in five days, no doubt on
the principle that circumstances alter cases, and that
what is true for one purpose may be false for another.
I have said that the jury, with indecent haste,
returned a verdict of Guilty. The crowd of people in
Court were evidently surprised at the result, although I
was not, and they gave vent to groans and hisses. The
tumult was indescribable. Suddenly there rang out
from the gallery overhead the agonising cry of my
young wife, whom I had implored not to come, and
whose presence there I never suspected. She had
crept in and listened all day to my trial, never leaving
her seat for fear of losing it ; and now, overwearied and
faint for want of food, she reeled under the heavy blow.
My heart leaped at the sound ; my brain reeled ; the
scene around me swam in confusion — ^judge, jury,
lawyers and spectators all shifting like the pieces in

TBB SSCOND TBUX. lOiV

a kaleidoscope ; my very frame seemed expanding
and dissolving in space. The feeling lasted only a mo*
ment. Yet to me how long I With a tremendous effort
I crushed down my emotions, and the next moment I
was mentally as calm as an Alp, although physically I
quivered like a race-horse sharply reined up in mid-
gallop by an iron hand. My wife I could not help,
but I could still maintain the honor and dignity of
Freethought.

Order was at length restored after his lordship had
threatened to clear the court. Mr. Avory then asked
him to deal leniently with Mr. Kemp, who was merely
a paid servant of ours, and in no other way actually
responsible for the incriminated publication. Justice
North listened with ill-concealed impatience. He was
obviously anxious to flesh the sword of justice in his
helpless victims. Directly Mr. Avory finished he began
to pronounce the following sentence on me, and while
he spoke there was deadly silence in that crowded
court : —

"George William Foote, you have been found Guilty by
the jury of publishing these bla^hemouB libels. This trial has
been to me a very punf nl one. I regret extremely to find a per-
son of your undoubted intelligence, a man gifted by God with
such great ability, should have chosen to prostitute his talents to
the service of the DevU. I consider this paper totally different
from any of the works you have brought before me in every way,
and the sentence I now pass upon you is one of imprisonment for
twelve calendar months."

Twelve months I It was longer than I expected, but
what matter ? My indifference, however, was not shared
by the crowd. They rose, and as the reporter said,,
"burst forth into a storm of hissing, groaning, and
derisive cries." " Damn Christianity I" I heard one
shout, and " Scroggs " and " Jeffries " were flung at the
judge, who seemed at first to enjoy the scene, although
he grew alarmed as the tumult increased. " Clear the
gallery," he cried, and the police burst in among the
people. But before they did their work somethings
happened. From the first I resolved, if I were found
guilty and sentenced to imprisonment, that I would say
something before leaving the dock. My first impulse

106 PRISONER FOB BLASPHEMY.

was to hurl at the judge a few words of passionate
indignation. But I reflected " No ! I have been tried
and condemned for ridicnling superstition. Sarcasm
is Blasphemy. Well then, let me sustain my character
to the end. 1 will leave with a stinging Freethinker
sentence on my lips." Raising my hand, I obtained a
moment's silence. Then I folded my arms and surveyed
the judge. Our eyes flashed mutual enmity for a few
seconds, until with a scornful smile and a mock bow I
said, ** Thanh you^ my lord ; the sentence u worthy of
your creed.^^

That retort has frequently been cited. It was a happy
inspiration, and the more I ponder it the more pro-
foundly I feel that it was exactly the right thing to
say.

The officers behind gave me a pressing invitation to
descend the dock stairs, and I complied. For a long
time I waited in one of the little dens I have already
described, pacing up and down, revolving many
thoughts, and wondering what detained my companions.
The fact is, the police had a great deal of trouble in
executing the judge's orders, and some time elapsed
before he could strike Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Kemp.
Meanwhile I could hear through the earth and the
brick walls the roar of that indignant crowd which filled
the street and suspended trafQc, and I knew it was the
first sound of public opinion reversing my unjust
sentence.

Consider it for a moment. There is no allusion to
outraged feelings, much less any suggestion of " inde-
cency." It is a plain declaration of theological hatred ;
it breathes the spirit which animated the Grand Inquisi-
tors when they sentenced heretics to be burnt to ashes
at the stake. "Listen," says the judge. "I am on
God's side. You are on the Devil's. God doesn't see
you, but I do ; God doesn't punish you, but I will.
We have hells on earth for you Freethinkers, in the
shape of Christian gaols, and to hell you go I'*

Presently Mr. Ramsey came down with nine months
on his back, and then Mr. Kemp with three. They
had my sentence between them. Mr. Cattell afterwards
joined us without any sentence. He was ordered to

THE SECOND TRIAL. 107

enter into his own recognisances in £200, and to find
one surety in £100, to come up for judgment when
called upon.

People have wondered on what principle Judge
North determined our sentences. One theory is that
he punished us according to the amount of his time we
occupied. I made a long speech and got twelve
months ; Mr. Ramsey made a short speech and got
nine ; Mr. Kemp made no speech and got only three ;
while Mr. Cattell cried Peccavi and got off with a
caution.

" Ready," cried the old janitor, in response to a dis-
tant voice. Our den was unlocked and we were
marched back to Newgate for the last time.

CHAPTER X.

"BLACK MABIA."

When we entered Newgate as " condemned criminals,"
we were theoretically under severe discipline, but the
officers considerately allowed us a few ijiinutes' con-
versation in the great hall before we marched to our
cells. We shook hands with Mr. Cattell, whom I rather
contemptuously congratulated on his good fortune.
He went into the office to receive back his effects, and
that was the last we saw of him. Vanishing from
sight, he vanished from mind. During my imprison-
ment I scarcely ever thought of him in connexion with
our case, and in writing this history I have had to tax
my memory to record his insignificant role.

According to the "rules and regulations," all our
privileges ended on our sentence. We were therefore
entitled to nothing but prison fare after leaving the
Old Bailey. But the hour was late, the cook was pro-
bably off duty, and our tea and toast had been waiting
for us since five o'clock ; so the head warder decided

108 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

that we might postpone our trial of the prison memt^
until the morning. When it was brought to me, my
toast (to use an Hibernicism) proved to be bread-and-
butter. There were three slices. I ate two, but could
not consume the third, my appetite being spoiled by
excitement and the tepid tea.

The officer who acted as waiter informed me that the
Old Bailey Street had been thronged all the afternoon,
and was still crowded. "We all thought," he said,
" that you would get off after that speech — and you
would have with another judge. But you won't be in
long. They're sure to get you out soon." I shook my
head. " Take my word for it," he answered. Thanking
him for his kindness, I told him I had no hope, and
was reconciled to my fate. Twelve months was a long
time, but I was young and strong, and should pull
through it. " Yes," he said, with an appreciative look
from head to feet, " there isn't much the matter with
you now. But you'll be out soon, sir, mark my word.'*

I have learnt since that the crowd waited to give
Judge North a warm reception. But they were disap-
pointed. His lordship went home, I understand, via
Newgate Street, and thus baffled their enthusiasm. Mr.
Cattell was, I believe, less fortunate. He was hooted
and jeered by the multitude, and obliged to take igno-
minious shelter in a cab.

Strange as it may seem, my last night in Newgate
was one of profound repose. I was wearied, exhausted ;
and spent nature claimed an interval of rest. For a few
minutes I lay in my hammock, listening to the faint
sound of distant voices and footsteps. Memory and
fancy were inert ; only the senses were faintly alive.
Consciousness gradually contracted to a dim vision of
the narrow cell, then to a haze, in which the gaslight
shone like a star, and finally died out. But by one of
those fantastic tricks the imps of dreaming play us,
the last patch of consciousness changed into my wife's
face. It was too dim and distant to stir grief or regret ;
like the vague vision of a beloved face hovering over
eyes that are waning in death.

In the morning I was awakened as usual by the
officer bringing the light for my gas. At eight o'clock

109

the little square flap in my door was let down with the
customary bang, and, on looking through the aperture,
I perceived a big pan containing a curious clotted mix-
tore, which resembled bill-stickers' paste. Behind the
utensil I saw part of an officer's uniform. This worthy
stirred the mixture with a ladle, while he jocosely in-
quired, " D'ye want any of this ?" I did not. " Come,"
he continued, " put out your tin and FU give you some.'*
I told him my appetite was not robust enough for his
hospitality, and he passed on, probably feeling sure I
should not eat the prison fare, and thinking the stuff
too good to be wasted. I took the little brown loaf he
offered me and examined it closely. It was very hard,
and apparently very dry. Depositing it on the shelf,
I brei^asted on cold water and the slice of bread-and*
butter left over night.

After this sumptuous repast I was let out for exercise.
This time the three " condemned " blasphemers were
not taken to a separate court. We paraded the common
yard with the other prisoners. They were few in
number, but they showed many varieties of disposition.
One hung his head, and doggedly tramped round the
wretched enclosure ; another walked erect and stiff,
iBidth an air of defiance ; another shuffled along with a
Tacant stare, as though dazed by his fate ; another
looked as indifferent as though he were walking along
the street ; and another leered at his companions in
misfortune, as though the whole thing were an elabo-
rate joke. For a few minutes I trotted behind Mr.
Ramsey, with whom I exchanged a few cheerful words,
but the vigilant officers soon separated us. " How long
'ave ye got ?" was the constant question of the man at
my rear, until the officers detected, and removed him.
I was surprised and annoyed at this easy familiarity,
but I grew accustomed to it afterwards. The rules of
civilised society naturally lapse in prison. Talking is
strictly prohibited, " pals " are rigorously kept apart,
nobody knows who will be next him in the exercise
ring, and any man who wants to wag his tongue must
strike up a conversation with his immediate neighbor.
** How long are ye doing I" is almost invariably the in-
troduction. This muttered question brings a muttered

110 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

answer. C6iifidenc<3s are exchanged, and the conver-
sation grows animated, until at last the speakers forget
prudence, and betray themselves to the eyes or ears of
an officer, who immediately parts them, or makes them
both fall out, and reports them to the Governor for vio-
lating the rules. The old stagers acquire a knack of
talking without moving their lips, so that the words
just reach the man in front or behind. If an officer
suspects one of these worthies, he calls out, ** Now then,
seventeen, I see ye I" " See me what ?" says the indig-
nant innocent. " Talking," replies the officer. " Why,
I never opened my lips," says the prisoner, and his de-
fence is perfectly true.

On returning from the exercise yard to our cells^ we
were furnished with a sheet of paper and an envelope
to write the last letter which " condemned criminals '*
are permitted to send from prison after their sentence.
The privilege is almost a mockery, for no answer is
allowed, and there is little consolation in flinging a
final word into the vast silence, which seems dejrf
because unresponsive. A last interview, however brief,
would be far more merciful.

We were summoned from our cells at eleven o'clock
for conveyance to Holloway Gaol. All our effects were
handed over to us, and we formally signed a receipt
for them in the big book. While this process was going
on the ofi&cers allowed us to chat, and endeavored to
console us by insisting that we should " soon be out.'*
One of them, with a practical turn of mind, recol-
lecting that I had complained of my appartment, in-
formed me that there were some beautiful cells at
Holloway.

Having pocketed our belongings, we were conducted
through the subterranean passage I have several times
mentioned to the great courtyard. The head-warder
conversed with us very genially, but when we emerged
into daylight and faced the prison van drawn up to
receive us, his manner changed. Holding a formidable
document, he called out our names and descriptions,
of&cially satisfying himself that we were the persons
under sentence. I told him, with mock solemnity, that
~ had no doubt I was the George William Foote described

*' BLACK MARIA." Ill

on the bine paper, and my fellow prisoners gave him a
similar assurance.

It was a critical moment. Will they, I thought, try
to handcuff us ? 1 hoped not, for I had resolved not
to submit tamely to any gratuitous indignities, and I
should have felt it necessary to offer what resistance I
could to such a flagrant insult. Happily the handcuffs
were kept out of sight. One by one we ascended the
steps, entered the narrow passage in the van, and
huddled ourselves into the narrower boxes. They were
so small that no ordinary-sized man could sit upon the
little bench at the back. I was obliged to crouch on
one ham diagonally, my shoulders stretching from^
comer to comer. Half a dozen holes were bored through
the floor, and there was a space between the side of the:
box and the roof of the van, which sloped away like an
eave. Probably the ventilation was ample, yet I felt
stifled, and so powerful is imagination that I breathed
heavily and irregularly. But reason soon came to my
assistance and allayed my apprehensions, although a
remnant of fancy still speculated on what would happen
if the ve^iicle upset.

Presently the door was banged, and " Black Maria "
started with her living freight. We had the conveyance,,
or rather its interior, all to ourselves. Surely the boxes
we were pent in never held such company before^
Three "blasphemers,'* who had never injured man,
wotnan or child, were travelling to gaol under a col-
lective sentence of two years' imprisonment, for na
other crime than honestly criticising a dishonest creed.
We were going to spend weary days and months among
the refuse of society. We were doomed to associate
with the criminality which still curses civilisation, after
eighteen centuries of the gospel of redemption. Pos-
terity would condemn our sentence as a crime, but
meanwhile we were fated to suffer.

Rattle, rattle, rattle I How the wretched machine
did rattle I Even the roar of the streets we traversed
was inaudible, quenched in the frightful din. All I
could do was to inspect the memorials of my prede-
cessors in that box. The sides were scrawled over with
their names (or nicknames) and sentences. Their brief

112 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

observations had a jovial tone. I suppose the miserable
passengers in that black ferry-boat to Hades are too full
of care to indulge in such trifling, and only wanton
larrikins and old stagers employ their pencils in illus-
trating the planks.

After a long drive we entered an archway and
stopped. A heavy door was closed behind us, and
another opened in front. The van moved forward a
few yards and turned round. Then the door was
opened, and looking out I saw the front of HoUoway
Gaol.

Several minutes elapsed before we descended from
the prison van. During this interval I chatted freely
with my fellow-prisoners, although we could not see
«ach other. But I have always found, as one of George
Meredith's characters says, that observation is perhaps
the most abiding pleasure in life, and I watched with
great amusement the antics of a sprucely-dressed young
fellow who sat on the step behind, and held a facetious
^conversation with the pleasant officer who " delivered "
us at Holloway. This natty blade was, I presumed,
our driver. His talk was of horses and drinking, and
I wondered how he obtained the money to purchase all
the liquors which he boasted of having imbibed that
morning. He seemed to possess a sort of right divine
to enjoyment on this earth, and I felt strongly tempted
to offer him the few shillings I had in my pocket. The
money was useless to me in prison, but it would serve
as buoyant air to the wings of this human butterfly.
What a contrast between our lots ! His head was un-
troubled with thought, he knew nothing of convictions
(except legal ones), and sacrifices for principle had pro-
bably never entered within the range of his imagina-
tion. He chattered away like a garrulous daw, perched
upon the step ; while we three in the van were just
leaving the sunlight of life for the darkness of im-
prisonment. Our devotion to principle seemed almost
folly, and our passion for reforming the world a species
of madness. So it must have appeared eighteen cen-
turies ago, when the Prophet of Nazareth stood in the
hall of a palace in Jerusalem. The men and damsels
who warmed themselves at the fire must have marvelled

** biaACk mabu." lis

at the infatuation of Jesus as he oonrted the shadow of
death.

When ** Black Maria'* disgorged her breakfast, we
were ushered into the great hall of Holloway prison.
The Deputy-Goyemor at once accosted us, and told ns
to wait, standing against the wall, until he could ** see
about us.'* Forgetting the rules and regulations, we
resumed our conversation, until we attracted the atten-
tion of an underling, who marched up with a lordly
air and sternly ordered us to stop talking. Presently
two figures leisurely descended the flight of stone steps
leading to the of&ces and the interior of the prison. I '
recognised one of these as the Governor of Newgate.
He had evidently come to introduce us* His companion
was Colonel Milman, the Oovemor of Holloway. After
a few minutes' conversation, of which I inferred from
their looks that we were the object, they parted,, and
Colonel Milman then advanced towards us with a genial
smile. He busied himself about us in the most hos-
pitable manner, as though we were ornaments to the
establishment. Interrogating us as to our occupations,
he found that only Mr. Ramsey was acquainted with
any mechanical work. In his younger days he had
practised the noble art of St. Crispin, but he found
that no shoes were made in the place, and he had little
taste for cobbling. Relying on some information he
had received in Newgate, he inquired, with an air of
childlike sincerity, whether chere was not some work
to do in the Governor's garden. Colonel Milman smiled
expressively as he answered that he was " afraid not.''.

The gallant Governor then went into an of&ce, and
as I wanted to speak to him before we were maix^hed off,
I walked in after him. ^' Hi I" exclaimed the of&cious
underling, " you mustn't go in there." But I went in,
nevertheless, followed by the fussy officer, who was
quietly told by the Governor that he " needn't trouble."
I explained to Colonel Milman that my position was
peculiar. " Yes," he said, " I know ; I saw you at the
Old Bailey yesterday," and his look expressed the rest.
I then stated that, as there waa no Court of Criminal
Appeal, I wished to make representations to the Home
\ Office as to the character of our trial and the almost

114 PRISONEB irOB BLASPHEMY.

unprecedented natnre of our sentence ; in particular, I
wished the Home Secretary to say whether he would
sanction our being classed with common thieves for a
press offence. I was told that I could have an ofi&cial
form for this purpose ; and, thanking the Gtovemor, I
withdrew to join my companions.

Let me here thank Colonel Milman for his unvarying
kindness. During the whole of my imprisonment he
never once addressed me in any other way than he
would have addressed me outside ; and although he had
to carry out a harsh sentence, it was obvious that he
shrank from the duty. But this eulogium is too per-
sonal. I hasten, therefore, to say that I never heard
Colonel Milman speak harshly to a prisoner, or saw a
forbidding look on his fine face. One of nature's gen-
tlemen, he could hardly be uncivil to the lowest of the
low.

Colonel Milman always dressed well, and the little
color he always affected was in harmony with his exube-
rant figure. It was refreshing to see him occasionally
in one's weariness of the dingy prison. He usually
stood at the wing-gate as the men filed in from exercise,
and answered their salutes, with a word for this one
and a smile for that. One day I heard a handsome
eulogy on him by a prisoner. He was standing in the
open air outside the gate. It was a pleasant summer
morning, and he was radiantly happy. A man behind
me was evidently struck by the Governor's appearance,
fori heard him mutter to his neighbor, "Good old boy,
ain't he ?" " Yes," said the other, " you're right."
" Fat, ain't he ?" rejoined number one. " Yes," said
number two, " like a top. It do yer good to see some-
body as ain't thin."

^om the great hall of HoUoway prison we were
conducted through a passage under the staircase to the
basement of the reception wing. Our pockets were
emptied, but not searched, and every article stowed
away in a little bag. One by one we went into an office,
where a clerkly official wrote our descriptions in a book.
** What religion ?" he inquired, when he came to the
theological department. « None," I replied- « What !"
he rejoined, " surely you're Catholic or Protestant or

"BLACK MABIA." 115

something." Then, with a flourish of the pen, and an
air of finality, he put the question again more deci«
Bively, " What religion ?'* " None," I said. He stared,
gave me np as a bad job, and wrote down ^'Religion
none." That extremely succinct description figured
for twelve months on the card outside my cell door,
and I have heard prisoners speculating as to what sort
of religion "none" was. It was the name of a sect
they had never heard of.

The prisoners' cards, afKxed to their cell doors, and
containing their name, age, crime, sentence, class and
creed, were of two colors— white (the emblem of purity)
for the Protestants, and red (the symbol of sin) for the
Catholics. These criminal members of the two great
divisions of Christendom, like their better or more for-
tunate co-religionists out of doors, do not mix in their
devotions. They worship Ood at different times, al-
though, alas ! the same building has to serve for both.
No special color has been found requisite for Free-
thinkers, who seldom trouble the prison officials, al-
though this fact is only another proof of their uncom-
mon obstinacy ; for it is clear that, according to their
principles, they ought to fill our gaols, yet they per-
versely refrain from those crimes which every principle
of consistency obliges them to commit.

After this ceremony we werp conducted upstairs to
our cells in the reception wing, to await an opportunity
of washing and changing our clothes. We passed
several prisoners at work in the corridors. All were
silent and stolid, and I could hardly resist the impres-
sion that I was in a lunatic asylum; We were handed
over to a red-haired and red-bearded warder, who
locked us up in separate cells. Before closing my door,
he asked whether I was a Grerman, and had any con-
nection with Herr Most. I explained that the Freiheit
and the Freethinker were very different papers.
" What's your sentence ?" he said. " Twelve months."
" Whew ! but it's a long time." Yes, my red-headed
friend, you were quite right. It was indeed a long
time!

116 PRISONER rOR BLASPHEMY.

CHAPTER XI.

HOLLOWAY GAOL.

A FEW minutes afterwards the red-haired warder re-
turned with what he called " some dinner." It con-
sisted of a little brown loaf, two or three coarse potatoes,
and a dirty-looking tin of pea-sonp. I was hungry,
but I conld not tackle this food. From my earliest
childhood I have always had a physical antipathy to
pea-sonp. The very sight of it raises my gorge. Nor
have I any special relish for potatoes, unless they
are of good quality and well cooked. I therefore
munched the brown bread, and washed it down with
cold water. It was a Spartan meal, but a very indi-
gestible one, as 1 can certify from painful experience.
Why a prisoner's stomach should be so grossly abused
by a sudden change of diet passes my comprehension.
Surely it would not be difficult to introduce the prison
fare gradually. There is real danger in a shock to the
basic organ of life when all the other organs are pain-
fully accommodating themselves to a radical change of
environment. Weak men are sometimes shattered by
it. Those who talk about the healthiness of prisons (a
subject on which I shall have something to say by-and-
bye) would be astonished at the quantity of physic
dispensed by the doctor. My constitution is a strong
one, and a dyspeptic old friend used to envy my " treble-
distilled gastric juice." Before 1 went to HoUoway Gaol
I scarcely knew, except inferentially, that I had a
stomach ; and while I was there I scarcely knew I had
anything else.

After dining I walked up and down my cell — ^tramp,
tramp, tramp. How the time crawled, weary hour on
hour, like a slow serpent over desert sands. There was
nothing to read, nothing to do, nothing to hear, and
nothing to see. I was steeped in nothing. And as the
senses were unexercised, thought worked on memory
till the brain seemed gnawing itself, as a shipwrecked
man might assuage his thirst at his own veins. Then

HOLLO WAT GAOL. 117

imagination, the magician, lovely in weal but terrible
in woe, began to weave his spell, and visions arose of
dear loved ones agonising beyond the prison walls, to
whom my heart yearned through the dividing space
with an intense passion that seemed as though its
potency might almost annihilate our barriers. Alas I
hearts yearn in vain. Nothing avails but strength, and
what we cannot achieve the Fates never bestow. My
cell walls stood cold and impassable around me, like
sentinels of destiny, too vigilant for evasion and too
strong for resistance. Brute force overmatches even
genius and divinity in the ultimate appeal. Prometheus
Ues chained to his Caucasian rock, in eternal pain
though in eternal defiance ; and Napoleon frets away
his mighty life at St. Helena watched by the callous
eyes of Sir Hudson Lowe.

About three o'clock my cell door was again unlocked
and I was invited to take a bath. In the corridor I met
my two fellow prisoners, and we were all three marched
back to the reception room. Three good baths of warm
water were awaiting us. What a glorious luxury after
the six days' confinement, without any means of wash-
ing one's skin ! Some of the prisoners, I understand,
regard the first bath as the worst part of the punishment.
They are brought up in dirt, and love it ; like the
Italian who deserted the English girl he was engaged
to, and justified himself by saying : " Oh, if I marry
her, she wash me, and then I die." We, however,
splashed about in our baths, uttering ejaculations of
pleasure, and congratulating each other on at least one
pleasant bit of prison experience.

The doors of our bath-rooms were about five feet
high, with an open space of nine or ten inches between
the bottom and the floor. Over the top of these an officer
passed us each a couple of shirts (under and over), a
pair of drawers, a pair of trousers, and worsted stock-
ings. The drawers and the under-shirt were woollen,
and the outer-shirt coarse striped cotton. The trousers
seemed a mixture of cotton and wool. They are brown
when new, but they wash white, and look then very
much like canvas. My pair was a terrible misfit, and
had to be exchanged for another nearly twice the size.

118 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

We were also provided with a net bag to put onr own
clothes in. My good black suit, dirty linen, hat and
boots, were all crushed in together. After this per-
formance the bags are hung up, and either the next
day, or at their leisure, the officials make an inventory
of the contents, and stow them away until the day
before the prisoner leaves, when they are taken out
in readiness for donning on the blessed morning of
release.

Clad in shirt, trousers and stockings, we walked from
our baths to the reception room, where we found several
officers and the Governor and Deputy-Governor, who
had apparently come to superintend our toilet. Each
of us was fitted with a new pair of shoes, a waistcoat
and a coat. These arrangements were the subject of a
good deal of pleasantry. Our garments were not of a
Bond Street pattern ; indeed, it takes a very handsome
man to cut an elegant figure in a prison suit. I mall-
ciously remarked to Mr. Ramsey Uiat he looked like a
gentleman out yachting ; but somehow he was unable
to see himself in that light. My own clothes were
sadly defective. The biggest shirt-collar they had would
not button round my throat, and the longest stock was
so inadequate that a special one had to be made forme.
Nor would the biggest coat fasten across my chest. A
broad expanse of waistcoat yawned between the button
and the button-hole. Fancying that my complaint was
merely fractious, the Deputy-Govemor — a tall, powerful
man — ^tried to pull them together, and miserably failed.
" Well," he said, " it's the largest in stock, and we can't
give you what we haven't got." " Yes," I exclaimed,
that's all very well ; but if I go about with an open
throat like this I shall get an attack of bronchitis. Ftbj
let me have a stock as soon as possible. And do you
really mean that you can't possibly find me a bigger
coat ?" The Deputy-Governor eyed me smilingly as he
said, " Come, Mr. Foote, don't be so partictdar ; the
clothes don't quite fit you now, but they wilV^ And
the worst of it was tJiey did. My coat, however, was
always tight across the chest. I changed my trousers
and waistcoat as I grew slimmer, but the solid structure
of my back and chest (built up by athletics in youth

HOLLOWAT OAOL. 119

and sustained by leotnring in manhood) always taxed
the resonrces of the establishment in the matter of coats.

One by one we went into the booking-clerk's office
ac^n, where we were scaled and our weights entered
in a book. Then we had an interview with the doctor,
whose duty it was to examine ns to see whether we
were snffering from any complaint. I was pronounced
quite sound. Dr. Gk)rdon spoke pleasantly then, as he
always did afterwards. ** I suppose you've lived pretty
well ?" he said. " Not epicureanly," I answered, " but
still well." " Tm afraid you won't like our hospitality/'
he rejoined. "I suppose not," I replied grimly.
"However," he continued, "I shall put you on third-
class diet at once, and order you a mattress." What
he third-class diet was the reader shall learn presentl y.
The second-class diet, which I should otherwise have
had for the first month, consists of nothing but bread
and sloppy meal-and- water, three times a day. Mr.
Kemp had to put up with this wretched fare for awhile,
and he tells me he was ravenously hungry morning and
night, so that it was a luxury to pick up a chance piece
of bread from a dinner-tin in die corridor or from a
friendly prisoner " off his feed."

Bathing, clothing, and doctoring over, we were
marched back to our cells, each loaded with a new mat-
tress and a pair of clean sheets. A few minutes later
I was summoned to the schoolroom with Mr. Ramsey,
where we were furnished with pen and ink and a sheet
of foolscap to write our " petition " to the Home Secre-
tary. The schoolmaster officiated on this occasion. He
was a tall, pleasant-looking man, something over forty,
with a tendency to baldness. I believe he instructs
prisoners who cannot read or write in those useful arts.
But his general duty is to play factotum to the chaplain.
He takes the singing class, leads the music in chapel,
plays the harmonium (the chaplain always calls it the
organ), acts as parson's clerk, and reads the lessons
when his superior's throat is hoarse with raving. He
has a clear and powerful voice, which often serves him
in good stead. The congregation has a knack of getting
out of time and tune when the melody is unfamiliar :
this, in turn, distracts tiie choir, who flounder hope-

120 PRISONER FOR BIiASPHEMY.

lesBly, until the schoolmaster drags them back by
putting full steam on the harmonium and singing at
the top of his voice. Every Sunday afternoon, at least,
he was obligeid to display his vocal prowess in this
manner. After everyone of the commandments read
out by the parson the prisoners ohanted ihe response,
^* Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to
keep this law.'' Nine times they chanted thus, gather-
ing momentum as they went along, so that they took
the tenth in brave style. But, alas I the tenth was
different. " Lord have mercy upon us, and write all
these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee," were
the words, and the tune was correspondingly altered.
Fortunately, just at the point of change, there was a
siTong creacendOy which gave the schoolmaster a fine
opportunity of asserting himself. Dragging them back
was impossible, so he drowned them, and concluded
with the solemn diminuendo amid the breathless admi-
ration of the audience, who went wrong and wondered
dX his going right every Sunday with the most astonish-
ing regularity.

Looking after the library was the part of the school-
master's duty which brought him in frequent contact
with me. I always found him very civil and obliging ;
and from all I could ascertain he was not only generally
liked in the prison, but considered a better gentleman
than the chaplain.

My " petition " to the Home Secretary was a lengthy
document. I assigned many reasons for considering
our sentence atrocious. I will not recite them, because
they will easily suggest themselves to the readers who
have followed my narrative. In conclusion I asked, if
our release was impossible, that we might be treated as
first-class misdemeanants, according to the general
European custom in the case of press offenders, or at
least supplied with books and writing materials. Sir
William Harcourt sent no finswer for a month. At the
end of that interval the Governor called me into his
office and read out the brutal reply : '^ The Home
Secretary requests Colonel Milman to inform Foote and
Ramsey that he sees no reason for acceding to their
request."

HOLLOWAT eAOL. 121

That -was the only instruction Colonel Milman eTer
received from the Home Office concerning us. Two
months later, when public opinion was more fully
aroused in our favor. Sir William Harcourt allowed
paragraphs to circulate in the papers, stating that orders
were given for our being granted every indulgence con*
Bistent with our safe custody. It was a braaen lie,
wliidh we were prevented from contradicting by the
prison rules. So carefully is every regulation contrived
for shielding officials that a prisoner is not allowed, in
his quarterly letter, to give any particulars of his treat
ment. Sir William Harcourt also permitted the news*
papers to announce that our health would not be
allowed to suffer. Another lie I When, after six weeks*
incessant diarrhoea, I complained that my stomach
would not accommodate itself to the prison food, and
asked to be shifted to the civil side, where I could pro-
vide my own. Sir William Harcourt did not even con*
descend to reply, although he was duly informed that
if Mr. Ramsey and I had been found Ouilty at the
Court of Queen's Bench, on our third trial. Lord Cole*
ridge would not only have made his sentence concur-
rent with that of Judge Korth, but also have removed
us from the criminal wards to the debtors' wing. Nay,
more. When Mr. Kemp had to be taken to the hospital,
where he was confined to his bed, and so weakened
that he had to be assisted to the carriage on the morn-
ing of his release. Sir William Harcourt would not
remit a day of his sentence, or take any notice of his
representations. It is well that the public should know
this, and contrast Sir William Harcourt's treatment of
us with his treatment of Mr. Edmund Yates. From
the first I had no expectation of release. I told Colonel
Milman that Sir William Harcourt was merely a poli-
tician, who cared for nothing but keeping in of&ce ; and
that unless our friends could threaten some Liberal
seats, or seriously affect a division in the House of
Commons, he would keep us in to please the bigots and
the Tories.

Our '< petition" to the Home Secretary being finished,
we returned to om: cells, where tea was served at six
o'clock. It consisted of gruel, or, in prison parlance,.

122 PBI80NEB FOB BLASPHEMY,

'^skilly/' and another little brown loaf. The liquid
portion of this repast was too suggestive of bill-stickers*
paste to be tempting, so I made a second meal of bread
and water.

The red-haired warder gave me a lesson in bed-
making before he looked me up for the night. Ham-
mocks had been dispensed with in HoUoway ever since
Sir Richard Gross groaned in the travail of invention,
and produced his masterpiece and monument — the
plank bed. Yet so slow is the ofKcial mind, that the
rings still lingered in some of the cells. The plank
bed is constructed of three eight-inch deals, held together
laterally by transverse wooden bars, which serve to lift
it two or three inches from the floor. At the head there
is a raised portion of flat wood, slightly sloping, to
serve as a bolster. For the first month (such is Sir
Richard Cross's brilliant idea) every prisoner, no
matter what his age or his offence, must sleep on this
plank bed without a mattress, unless the doctor sees a
special reason for ordering him one. During the
second month he sleeps on ^e plank bed three nights
a week, and during the third month one night. Sleeps 1
The very word is a mockery. Scores of prisoners
do not sleep, but pass night after night in broken and
restless slumber. Fancy a man delicately brought up,
as some prisoners are, suddenly pitched on one of
these vile inventions. He tosses about hour after hour,
and rises in the morning sore and weary. He has no
appetite for breakfast, and is low all day. The next
night comes with renewed torture, and. on the follow-
ing day he is still worse. He then applies to see the
doctor, who gives him a bottle of physic, which forces
an appetite for a while. But it is soon powerless
against the effects of nervous exhaustion, and before
the poor devil can obtain relief, he is sometimes
reduced to the most pitiable condition. I have seen
robust men in HoUoway, by means of this plank bed
and other superfluous tortures of our prison system,
brought to the very verge of the grave ; and I can
scarcely control my indignation when I remember that
Mr. Truelove, at the age of seventy, was subjected to
this atrocious discipline.

HOLLOWAY GAOL. 128

The mattreBB68 are stuffed with fibre. They are
tolerable at first, but in a few weeks the staffing mns
into lumps, and yonr mattress gets nearly as hard as
the plank. Shaking is no good ; I tried it, and found
it only shifted the lumps out of the places my body
had forced th^m in, and left me to repose on a series of
hillocks. I got my mattress changed once or twice, but
ordinary prisoners are seldom so fortunate.

I retired to rest early that first evening in HoUoway.
The day had been eventful, and I slept heavily. Break-
fast the next morning was a second edition of the tea
— ^bread and BkUly ; and again I refreshed myself with
the little loaf and cold water.

Soon after breakfast I was invited to attend chapel.
It was a welcome summons, for the cell is so drearily
monotonous that any change is agreeable. The comer
of the chapel we entered was partitioned off from the
rest of the building, and capable of seating twenty or
thirty prisoners. Besides ourselves, there were present
ten or twelve boys, three or four old men, and two or
three persons who looked slightly imbecile. The
service was read by the chaplain, whose voice was
loud, authoritative, and repellant. Some people would
call it gruff. It was certainly the most unpersuasive
voice I ever heard. As I listened to its domineering
tones I could hardly refrain from laughing, for they
elicited an old story from the depths of memory. An
aged pauper lay dying, and in the parson's absence the
master officiated at the sinner's exit from this world.
"Well, Tom," he began, "you've been a dreadful
fellow, and I fear you are going to hell." " Oh, sir,"
said the poor old fellow, "you don't say so." "Yes,
Tom," the master rejoined, " I do say so ; and you
ought to be thankful there's a hell to go to."

After chapel we spent an hour or so in our cells, and
were then conducted to the basement of the reception
wing, where we met the Governor, who conducted us
through several dark passages that led to the foot of
a spiral iron staircase. We ascended this, and found
ourselves on the ground floor of the criminal side of
the prison. Four wings radiated from a common centre,
distinguished by the first four letters of the alphabet. I

124 PBISONBB FOB BLASPHEMT.

was taken to the first cell in the first wing^ Mr. Ramsey to
the second cell in the second wing, and Mr. Kemp to the
second cell in the third wing ; onr numbers being A 2»
l^B 2, 2-^«nd C 2, 2. Colonel Milman personally
placed me in charge of a warder who has since left
the prison, and I believe the service^ He was a good,
kind-*hearted fellow, who never spoke harshly to any*
body. Following me into my cell, he took pains to
'* put me through the ropes." Before leaving he said,
" I'm very sorry to see you here, Mr. Foote. I've been
reading your case in the papers. It's a great shame.
But I'll do my best to make you comfortable while
you're with me." And I must say he did.

There were several prisoners standing mute in the
corridor outside, and I remarked that they were a pale
looking crew. " Yes," said the warder sadly, " confine-
ment tells on a man." Then he gently closed and
locked the door, leaving me alone to begin my long
ordeal, with the words humming in my ears like the
whisper of a fiend— Confinement tells on a man I

CHAPTER XII.

PRISON LIFB.

When I found myself alone in my permanent cell, I
sat down on the little three-legged stool and examined
the furniture. There was' a flap-table, two feet by one,
fixed on the right wall. In the left corner behind the
door were three minute quarter-circle shelves, contain-
ing a roll of bedding, a wooden salt-cellar, a wooden
spoon, and a comb and brush, each about four inches
long. In the opposite comer under the window stood
the plank bed, and on the floor were three tin utensils

PSI80N lilFE. 125

—a dnst-pan, a water-can, and a nondescript lidded
article for baser uses. Fortunately, the nm-shaped
abomination I found in the Newgate cells, and have
already described, was absent in Holloway. When a
prisoner wished to visit the water-closet, he rang his
bell, and sooner or later (often later) he was let out.
Each wing had two closets in a deep recess, the door
shielding the occupant's person from mid-leg to breast.
During the night the nondescript lidded article was
brought into requisition. When the cell doors were
opened at six o'clock in the morning every prisoner put
out his " slops," which were emptied by tiie cleaners.
This scavenger's work must be very distasteful, but so
anxious are the prisoners to get out of their cells that
there are always plenty of candidates for the of&ce.
The tins are kept clean by means of brick and white-
ning, which are passed into the cells every evening in
little cotton bags. My dust-pan, at least, was always
well polished, for I used it as a mirror to see how I was
looking, being naturally anxious to ascertain what
visible effect the prison life had upon me. One of the
warders put me up to a very useful "wrinkle." By
well cleaning the dust-pan with whitening, rubbing it
up well with the clean rag until it had a nice surface,
and then lightly passing a rag saturated with dubbin
over it, you could produce a beautiful polish by a few
slight touches of the "finisher." After this artistic
process the dust-pan shone like an oriental mirror, and
might have served a belle at her toilette.

Every article of furniture has now been described,
excepting the stool. It was a miniature tripod, fifteen
inches high, with a round top about eight inches in
diameter. A more uncomfortable seat could hardly be
devised. There was no support for the back, and the
legs had to be stretched out at full length. If you bent
them you threw your body forward, and ran the risk of
contracting round shoulders. Whenever I wanted a
little ease, especially after dinner, when a V-shaped
body is not conducive to digestion, I used to rest
against the upright plank bed, extend my legs luxuri-
ously, and dream of the cigar which was just the one
thing required to complete a picture of comfort.

126 PBISOKEB FOB BLASPHmiT

Such was the f amiture of my apartment in Her
Majesty's Holloway Hotel. Scantier appointments
were impossible. Yet, to my surprise, an officer came
in one day with an inventory, to see if anything was
missing. Rather a saperfluons check, when the iron
cell door was constantly locked and there was no open-
ing to the window I A prisoner could hardly bury his
furniture in a concrete floor, and the most ferocious
appetite would surely quail before deal planks and tin
pans.

The cell itself was similar to the one I have already
described. The ventilation was provided by an iron
grating over the door, communicating with a shaft that
carried off the foul air ; and another iron grating under
the window, which admitted the fresh air from outside.
This grating, however, did not 3ommunicate directly
with the atmosphere, for the prison is built with double
walls. Eighteen inches or so below it was another
grating in the outer wall. This arrangement prevented
the prisoners from getting a glimpse of the grounds,
as well as the air from rushing in too rawly. My cell
was one of the old ones. In the new cells there is a
slightly different method of ventilation. Two of the
small panes of glass are removed from the window,
and a little frame is placed inside, consisting of wood
at the sides and fluted glass in the front. Flush with
the window-sill at the bottom, it inclines inward at an
angle of twenty degrees, so that there is room at the
top for a six-inch flap, which works on hinges, and is
elevated or lowered by a chain. This is an improve-
ment on the old system, because the fresh air comes in
straight, and you can regulate the inflow. But in both
cases the fresh air has to ascend^ and unless there is a
wind blowing you get very little of it on a hot sum-
mer day. The ventilation depending entirely on tem-
perature, without being assisted by a draught, if the
outside temperature, as is often the case in the summer,
happens to be higher than that of your cell, your atmo-
sphere is stagnant, and you live in a tank of foul air .
This defect might be partially remedied by leaving the
cell doors open when the prisoners are out at exercise
or chapel, and, as it were, refllling the tank. But keys

PBIBQN LIFE. 127

are a fetish in prison, and the officials think it quite
as necessary to lock up an empty cell as an occupied one.

The cell floor, I have said, was blackleaided and
polished. A smaXL fibre brush was supplied for sweep-
ing up the dust, and a tight roll of black cloth for
polishing. I used both these at first, but I soon dis-
pensed with the latter. Having a slight cold, I found
my expectoration black, a circumstance that slightly
alarmed me until I reflected that my lungs were in
excellent order, and that the discoloration must be due
to some extrinsic cause. This I discovered to be the
blacklead from the floor. It wears ofE under your
tread, and as there is no draught to carry the dust away,
it floats in the air and is inhaled. The only remedy was
to avoid the blacklead altogetiier. When, therefore,
the bucket containing a quantity in solution was
next brought round, I declined to have any. " But you
must," said the officer. "Well, I object," I answered,
^'and I certainly shall not put it on. If you like to do
it yourself of course I cannot prevent you." He did
not like to do it himself and disappeared, saying he
would come again directly, which he forgot to do.
Several days afterwards the Deputy-Governor came on
a tour of inspection. Noticing that my floor was neither
black nor polished, he attempted a mild reproof. I
repeated my objection. "Well, you know," he replied,
" you must keep your cell clean." " Yes," I rejoined,
"and I do keep it clean for my own sake ; but your
blacklead is dirt" That ended the conversation, and
the blacklead question was never agitated again,
although once or twice, during my absence from the
cell, the obnoxious stuff was put on the floor and
polished up by one of the cleaners. Let me add that
in the new cells the floors are all boarded, and the
blacklead nuisance is there unknown.

While I was meditating on my luxurious surround-
ings, the warder entered again with a prisoner, who
carried a bag. "Well, Mr. Foote," said the genial
officer, " how are you getting on ? I've brought you
some work. It isn't hard, and you needn't task your-
self ; you'll find it help to pass away the time." Some
of the contents of the bag were then emptied on the

128 PBISONEE FOB BLASPHEMY.

floor, niey consiBted of fibre-rope clipped into short
lengths, lliese had to be picked abroad. The work
-was light, but very monotonotis. It did help to
kill time, and it -was less troublesome than pickiBg
oaknm. Mr. Traelove tells me that thej made
him pick oakum in prison till his fingers were
raw, and laughed at him for complaining. He
was then seventy years old 1 Think of it, reader,
and reflect on the tender mercies of the religion of
ohsurity.

During my imprisonment I never worked at any-
thing but flbre-picking. Oladly would I have wheeled
a barrow in the open air, but that is a privilege reserved
for felons ; misdemeanants are locked up in their cells
night and day. Once there was an attempt made to in-
struct me in the art of brush-making, but it egregiously
failed. An officer from the D wing, where the mats
and brushes are made, opened my cell door one after-
noon, and shouted, "Come along I" " Where ?'' Tasked,
not liking his manner. ** Where I" he ejaculated,
" Come along." ** Thank you," I said, " but you must
please tell m,e where." He was very much annoyed
by my freezing civility, which I always found the best
represser of impertinence; but recognising his mistake,
he changed his tone, and vouchssied an explanation.
*' The Governor," he said, " wants you to come and see
how brushes are made." " Oh, of course," I said, and
marched after him.

Arriving at the D wing, I was silently introduced to
a prisoner sitting on a stool, who had been brought
out of his cell to give me lessons in brush-making.
He worked and I watched. Presently the officer had
to attend to some other business a few yards off.
Directly his back was turned the prisoner eagerly
whispered, " How long are ye doin* ?" I told him.
**rm doin' fifteen months," he confidingly said. Then
he added, with look half positive and half interrogative,
" Time's damned long, ain't it ?" I agreed. Forgetting
his work, he spliced a bit of rope badly. " See," I said,
^'that splice is wrong." '^Ah," he replied, his face
brightening, '* you're a salt un too, are ye ? Hanged if
I didn't think you was a barnacle." He informed me

PBI80N LIFE. 129

that he had been in the Englislt^ and American naviesi
and all round the world. Where had I been ? I was
obliged to explain that I was a journalist. Quill-driving,
as he called it, was evidently, in his opinion, an igno-
minious employment. However did I learn splicing I
When I explained that I was bred at the seaside, and
passionately loved boating, his sailor's heart warmed
towards me again. " This work ain't hard," he said ;
" you can make two brushes in an hour and a half, and
I makes a dozen a week." I smiled. It was a fine
illustration of what is called prison labor. Resuming,
he said : " I'm the only one as makes 'em now, and I
s'pose they wants more. The chap as made 'em afore
me used to do three dozen a week. Wasn't he a darned
fool ? Now, don*t you go makin' more than two a day,
or you'll put my nose out of joint." " No," I promised,
" I won't make more than two a day." " Ah," he said,
looking at me with a comical twinkle of the eyes, " I
see you ain't a goin' to make brushes."

At this point the warder stepped up, and invited me
to "try my hand." "Thank you," I replied; "the
Governor told you to let me see how brushes are made,
and I have seen how brushes are made." Then bowing
slightly, I walked straight back to my cell, leaving the
officer almost petrified with astonishment. I heard no
more of brush-making.

My objection to the work was simple. It was more
interesting than picking fibre, but it necessitated stoop-
ing, the brush being held, like a shoe, between the
knees. As a lecturer, I knew too well the value of a
sound Chest to engage in such employment.

I come now to the diet. Third-class fare, to which I
was entitled by the doctor's order, was almost entirely
farinaceous, and miserably monotonous. Breakfast and
tea (or supper), served at eight and six respectively,
consisted of six ounces of brown bread and three
quarters of a pint of gruel, or "skilly." The latter
was frequently so fluid that spooning was unnecessary.
The dinners, served punctually at twelve o'clock, were
more varied. Brown bread and browner potatoes
were the staple of each mid-day meal. The bread
was always excellent. The potatoes were abominable.

130 PRISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

I have said that they were browner than the bread, and
I may add that the color was not caused by cooking,
but purely original. As the old potatoes were leaving
the market, and the new ones were too expensive for
prisoners, the most robust appetite must have turned
with disgust from the supply which fell to our share.
I should imagine that every swine's trough around
the metropolis must have been plundered to provision
HoUoway Gaol.

The variable part of the dinner was as follows.
Pea-soup, to which, as I have already said, I had
a physical antipathy, was served up three days out
of every seven — on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Satur-
days. And such pea-soup! The mixture used to
rise as I swallowed it, and I. have often grasped my
throat to keep it down, knowing that if I did not
eat, however nauseous the food, my health would
necessarily suffer. It was not pea-soup before the
joint, but pea-soup without it, and in that case the
quality of the compound is an important matter.
When I read the Book of Job afresh in my cell, I found
in the sixth chapter, and seventh verse, a text which
admirably suited my situation : "The things that
my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful
meat." Three days a week I could have preached
a better, or at least a more feeling, sermon on that
text than any parson in the kingdom.

On Sundays and Wednesdays, instead of the pea-soup,
I was served with six ounces of suet pudding baked in a
separate tin. I never saw such pudding, and I never
smelt such suet. Brown meal was used for the dough,
and the suet lay on the top in yellow greasy streak. I
can liken the compound to nothing but a linseed
poultice. The resemblance was so obvious that it
struck many other prisoners. I have heard the term
poultice applied to the suet pudding more than once in
casual conversations in the exercise ground. Twice a
week I was entitled to meat. On fViday, instead of
the pea-soup or suet pudding, there was three ounces
of Australian beef ; and on Mondays three-quarters of
an ounce of fat bacon with some white beans. The
subtle humorist who drew up the diet scale had

PRISON LITE. 131

appended a note that '' all meats were to be weighed
without bone."

A good tale hangs by that bacon and beans. While
I was awaiting the second trial in Newgate, and pro-
viding my own food, I studied the diet scale which
hangs up in each cell, and was fascinated by this
extravagant quantity of pork, which seemed to evidence
an unimagined display of prison hospitality. One of
the officers to whom I mentioned the matter said, '^ Ah,
Mr. Foote, I wish you would show that diet up when
you get out. Untried prisoners have the same fare as
condemned criminals, only they get less of it. There
are lusty chaps come in here, some of them quite
innocent, who could eat twice as much, and look round
for the man that cooked it. lUl tell you a story about
that three-quarters of an ounce. A fellow rang his bell
one day after the dinner was served. ' Well,' I said,
•what's the matter?* *I want's my bacon,' said he.
' Well, you've got it,' said I. * No I aint,' said he. * It's
in your tin,* said I. ' Taint in my tin,' said he. Then
I fetched up the cook. We all three searched, and at
last we found the bacon in one of the shucks of the
beans."

The worthy fellow laughed, and so did I, as he
ended his story. There might have been some
exaggeration in it, but you would not find it so hard to
believe if you had ever sat down to dine on three-
quarters of an ounce of fat bacon.

I was confined in my cell twenty-three hours out of
every twenty-four, and during the first week my one
hour's exercise was mostly taken in the corridor instead
of in the open air. The prison authorities are careless
about a man's health being subtly undermined, but
they do not like him to catch cold, which may produce
visible and audible consequences. Whenever it is
snowing or raining, or whenever the ground is wet, the
prisoners exercise in the corridors, where the air is
scarcely purer than in their cells. During the first
week, the weather being bad, I only went out once. On
Saturday, which was cleaning day, I had no exercise
at all, and on Sunday I was entitled to none — ^prisoners
not being allowed that privilege on the blessed Sabbath

132 PRISONER FOB BLASPHEMY.

until a month of their sentence has expired: I was there*
fore confined to my cell without exercise or fresh air
from Friday morning until Monday morning, or three
clear days. The exercise out of doors is a delightful relief
from solitary confinement in a brick vault. The
prisoners walk in Indian file in circles : a regular
thieves' procession, the Rogue's March without the
music. The new comers, who violate the rule of
silence, are soon detected by the vigilant officers, but
the old hands, as I have said, acquire a habit of speak-
ing without moving the lips, and in a tone which just
reaches their next neighbor. Ten days or so after I
entered HoUoway I overheard the following conversa-
tion behind me : —

" Who's that bloke in front o' you ? " "Dunno," was
the reply. " Queer lookin* bloke, aint he ? " — ^^ How-
long's he doin' ? '* — " A stretch," which in prison lan-
guage means twelve months, and having served that
term, I know that it is a stretch. " What's he in for ? "
— " Dunno, but I hear he put somethin* in a paper they
didn't like."— "What, a stretch for that!"— And I
venture to assert that, although the prisoner who
uttered this ejaculation was on the wrong side of a
gaol, his unsophisticated common sense on this point
was infinitely superior to the bigotry of Qiffard, Har-
court and North, and of the jury who assisted in send-
ing us to gaol for " putting something in a paper they
didn't like."

During my first week's residence in HoUoway Gaol»
owing to the bad weather, I exercised in the corridor
with the other inmates of the A wing. There is little
more room between the cell doors and the railing over-
looking the well than suffices for the passage of a single
person. The prisoners therefore walked in Indian file,
and as they were practically beyond supervision except
when they came abreast of one of the three or four
officers in charge, a great deal of conversation went on,
and I wondered why the chief warder below did not
hear the loud hum of so many voices. I afterwards
discovered the reason. When you stand under the pro-
cession you can hear nothing but the trampling of

PRISON UFEU 133

dozens of feet, which reverberates through the wing,
and drowns every other sounds

At first I marched as stifE as a poker, drawing myself
together, as it were, into the smallest compass, to avoid
the contamination of the company, most of whom were
poor, repulsive specimens of humanity, survivals in our
civilised age of the lower types of barbarous or savage
times. Most of them were young and had a reckless
bearing, but a few were middle-aged, and some were
obviously old hands who "knew the ropes," were re-
conciled to their &te, and resolved on making the best
of the situation. Tramp, tramp, tramp ! My very life
seemed reduced to this monotonous shuffle. I half
fancied myself in a new kind of hell, ranked in an
everlasting procession of aimless feet, mechanically
following a convict's coat in front of me, and as
mechanically followed by the wearer of a similar coat
behind. But as I passed the great window at the end
of the wing the blessed light of the silvery winter
sun sometimes streamed through the dense glass upon
my face, rays of the eternal splendor coming so many
millions of miles from the great fire-fount, how in-
different, as Perdita saw, to the artificial distinctions of
men ! I felt refreshed, but the feeling wore ofE as I
returned to the gloomy corridor, skirting cells on the
right, and on the left a low rail that offered the suicide
a tempting leap into the arms of Death. All this time
I was living an intense inward life, but I suppose there
was a far-away look in my eyes, for now and then a
prisoner would say " Cheer up, sir." I smiled at this
consolatory effort, for although I was disgusted, I was
not despondent. Occasionally an attempt was made to
drag me into conversation, but I parried all advances
with as little offence as possible. One dirty short man,
grievously afflicted with scurvy, or something worse,
several times manceuvred to get behind me, and at last
he succeeded. "How long ye doin', mate?' No
answer. "I say, mate, how long ye doin'?" No
answer. "A damned long time, / know, or they
wouldn' give ye a new suit like that, ye stuck-
up :'

What oaths I heard in that wretched gaol! No

134 PBISONER FOB BLASPHEMY.

abomination of human speech is unknown to me. One
particularly vile expletive was fashionable during my
imprisonment ; it seasoned every phrase, and preceded
every adjective. Its constant iteration was sickening,
until long experience made me callous. How thankful
I should be to Judge North for trying to purify me in
that mud-bath of rascality. I can never forget the debt
of gratitude — and I never will !

Among the prisoners I noticed ene of robust physique
and martial bearing. Seldom had I seen so fine a figure.
Within six months I saw that man reduced almost to a
skeleton by solitary confinement, wearily trailing one
limb after the other, and looking out despairingly from
cavernous, moribund eyes. Well did Lord Fitzgerald
(I think) in a recent speech in the House of Lords
describe this torture as the worst ever devised by the
brain of man. His lordship added that the Governor
of a great prison told him that he never knew a man
undergo twelve months of such punishment without
severe suffering, or two years of it without being terribly
shaken, or three years without being physically and
mentally wrecked. In the penal servitude establish-
ments the discipline has to be relaxed, or the prisoners
would die or go mad before their terms expired. They
work out of their cells in the daytime, and on certain
occasions (Sundays, I believe) they are allowed to walk
in couples and exercise their faculty of speech.

The poor fellow I refer to, fearing that he would die,
and having learnt that I was a public man, managed to
tell me something of his case. He had been a warder
in Coldbath Fields Prison, where he officiated as master-
tailor. In an evil moment he '^ cabbaged '* some cloth,
was detected, tried, condemned, and sentenced to
twenty months' imprisonment. He had been in the
army for over twenty years without a scratch of the
pen against his name, and his of&cers had given him
excellent characters ; but the judge would hear of
nothing in mitigation of sentence, although he knew
it deprived the man of a pension of thirty-six pounds
a year, which he had earned by long service in
India, where the enemy's blades had drunk deeply of
his blood. His wife and children had gone to a work-

PBISON LIFE. 135

house in Leicestershire, and as they had no money for
travelling^ he had never received a visit He pined
away in his miserable cell until he became a pitiable
spectacle which excited the compassion of the whole
prison. The doctor ordered him out of his cell, but
the authorities would not allow it. He told me how
much he had lost round the chest and calf, but I have
forgotten the precise figures. One fact, however, I
recollect distinctly ; he had lost eight inches round the
thighy and his flesh was like a child's. Eventually the
doetor peremptorily ordered him into the hospital, and
the Prison Commissioners and Visiting Magistrates
were reluctantly obliged to let him save the man's life.

Dreary indeed was the life in my prison cell, sitting
on the three-legged stool picking fibre, or walking up
and down the twelve-foot floor. I used frequently to
stand under the window for long intervals, resting my
hand on the sloping sill. It was impossible to see
through the heavy-fluted panes, but outside was light,
liberty and life. Sometimes, especially on Saturdays,
when I had been accustomed to run down to the North,
the Midlands or the West, to fulfil a lecturing engage-
ment, the muffled shriek of a distant railway whistle
went through me like the clash of steel.

My library, during the first three months, consisted
of a Bible, a Prayer Book and a Hymn Book. Although
I was really there for knowing too much about the
" blessed book " already, I read it right through in the
first month, and again in the second, besides reading it
discursively afterwards. And still I am a sincerely
impenitent Freethinker I You may knock a man down
with the Bible, and make an impression on his skull ;
but when he picks himself up again, you find you have
made no impression on his mind, except that his
opinion of you is altered. I remember the chaplain
calling to see me one day as I was just concluding my
inspection of what Heine calls the menagerie of the
Apocalypse. He could not help seeing the Bible, for
when it lay open there was very little table visible.
" Ah," he said, "I see you m reading the holy

136 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

Scriptnre." "Yes," I replied, "Tve read it through
this month, and I believe I*m the only man in the
place who has done it — including the chaplain."

By and by the schoolmaster hunted me out a French
Bible, the only one in the prison. It was an old one,
and contained some scratches by a Gallic prisoner, who
had been twice immured for smuggling (pour contra-
handier )y and who pathetically called on God to help
him. Cette vie est amere^ he had written. Yes, my
poor French friend, it was bitter indeed ! As for the
hymn book, it contained two or three good pieces, like
Newman's " Lead, Kindly Light," but for the rest it
was the scraggiest collection I ever met with-— evan-
gelical and wooden, with an occasional dash of weak
music and washy sentiment.

The monotony of my existence was not even broken
by visits to chapel. After the first day's attendance at
" divine worship " for some reason I was not let out at
the hour of devotion. After a few days, however, one
of the principal ofScers said to me " Wouldn't you like
to go to chapel, Mr. Foote. There's nothing irksome in
itj and youll find it breaks the monotony." " With
pleasure," I replied, " but I have not till now received
an invitation." " What ! " he exclaimed. Then, call-
ing up a young Irish officer in my wing, he asked " How
is this ? Why hasn't Mr. Foote been invited to chapel ? "
" Well, sir," answered the culprit, scratching his head
and looking sheepish, "I knew Mr. Foote was a Free-
thinker, and I didn't want to insult his opinions."
Good I I thought. Why was not this worthy fellow
on the jury, or better still, on the bench ? I told him I
was very much obliged for his intended kindness, but
at the same time I preferred going to chapel, as I wished
to see all I could for my money. After that I went to
the house of prayer like any church-going belle (this is
what Cowper must have meant, for how could Koell go
to church ?) every Sunday, and every other day during
the week. Had the chapel been of larger dimensions
I should have gone daily, but it was too small to hold
all the prisoners, who were therefore divided into two
"congregations, each approaching the holy altar on

PBISON LIFE. 137

alternate days. What I saw and heard in the sacred
edifice will be related in a separate chapter.

At the end of my second month I was entitled to a
school-book and a slate and pencil. These articles
were promptly bronght to me by the obliging school-
master. Two copies of Colenso's Arithmetic had been
procured; one was given to me, and the other, as I
afterwards learned, to Mr. Ramsey. The fly-leaf was
cut out, I noticed ; the object being to prevent us from
obtaining a bit of paper to write on. This, I may add,
is the general rule in the prison library, every book
being thus mutilated. It is a silly precaution, for if a
prisoner can succeed in carrying on a correspondence
with his friends outside, he is obviously not dependent
on the library for materials, and he would be the
veriest fool to excite suspicion by amputating the
leaves of a book.

Knowing that I should have no better school-book
during my long imprisonment, I determined to make
Colenso last as long as possible. I steadily went
through it from beginning to end. Working the
addition and subtraction sums was certainly tedious,
but I wanted to keep the interesting problems, as you
reserve the daintier portions of a repast, till the end.
Curiously enough, it was the sober and serious Colenso
who gave me my one restless night in HoUoway Gaol.
I puzzled over one pretty problem, and the bed-bell
rang before I could solve it. Directly my gas was
turned out the method of solution flashed on my mind,
and I was so vexed at being unable to work it out
immediately that it was hours before I could fall asleep.
During that time my brain made desperate but futile
efforts to reach the answer by mental arithmetic, and
when I woke in the morning I felt thoroughly
fagged.

Having had no writing materials for two months the
slate and pencil looked very inviting. I composed a
few pieces of verse, including a sonnet on Giordano
Bruno aQd some epigrams on Parson Plaford, Judge
North, Sir Hardinge Giffard, and other distasteful
personages. But as every piece written on the slate
had to be rubbed out to make room for the next, I soon

138 PRISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

sickened of composition. It was murdering one bant*
ling to make place for another.

Sometimes the dnlness of my incarceration was re-
Heved by overhearing whispered conversations outside
my cell door. Until we became well known, there was
considerable speculation among the prisoners as to who
we were, and what we were there for. One day a
couple of fellows, engaged in cleaning the corridor,
worked themselves near together, one standing on
either side of my door. " 'VVTio's the bloke in yer?"
I heard queried. '* Dunno," said the other, " I b'lieve
he's a Fenian." Another time I heard the answer,
" Oh, he's one of Bradlaugh's pals ; and Bradlaugh'a
coming up next week " — a next week which happily
never arrived.

Mr. Ramsey tells me that similar speculations went
on outside his door. Like mine, his card specified
^^misdr." (misdemeanor) as the offence, the officials
perhaps not liking to write blasphemy. Like me also,
he was put down as a Fenian. " Why there," said a
prisoner, who had just enounced this opinion, '' look
at his card ; see— murder ! " The " misdr." was not
written too plainly, and " murder " was his interpreta*
tion of the hieroglyph.

Let me here interpolate another good story in con-
nexion with Mr. Ramsey. He was confidently asked
by an old hand what he was in for. '' Blasphemy,"
said Mr. Ramsey. " Blasphemy ! What the hell's that ?"
said the fellow. Here was a confirmed criminal who
had never heard of this crime before ; it was not in
the catalogue known to his fraternity ; and on learning
that all which could be got from it was nine months*
imprisonment if you were found out, and nothing if
you were not, he concluded that he would never patro-
nise that line of business.

From the description already given of my cell, the
reader has seen that my domestic accommodations were
exceedingly limited. All my ablutions were performed
with the aid of a tin bowl, holding about a quart. This
suf&ced for hands and face, but how was I to get a wash
•*ll over ? I broached this question one day to warder

mith, who informed me that the bathing appliances

PRISON LIFE. 13^

of the establishment were scanty, and that the prisoners
were only " tubbed " once a fortnight. I explained to
him that I was not used to such undeanliness ; but of
course he could not help me. Then I laid the matter
before the Deputy-Oovemor, who told an officer to take
me to the baUi-room at the base of the debtor's wing,
where I enjoyed a good scrub. On returning to the
criminal part of the prison I had my hair cut, a prisoner
officiating as barber. Despite the rule of silence, I gave
him verbal instructions how to proceed, otherwise he
would have given me the regular prison crop. During
the rest of my term I always had my hair trimmed in
tiiy own fashion. The prison crop, I may observe, is
rather a custom than a rule; the regulations require
only such hair-cutting and shaving as is necessary for
health and cleanliness, but the criminal population
affect short hair, and the difficulty is not to bring them
under, but to keep them, out of, the barber's hands.

Prison barbers are generally amateurs. Of course
the officers are above such work, and unless a member
of the tonsorial profession happens to be in residence,
the scissors are wielded by the first man who fancies
himself a natural adept at the business. The last barber
I saw in Holloway Gaol was a coachman, whose only
qualification for the work was that he had clipped
horses' legs. He wore a blue apron round a corpulent
waist, and looked remarkably like a pork-butcher. He
walked round the victim like an artist engaged on a
bust, and his habit was to work steadily away at one
spot until the skin showed like a piece of white plaster,
after which he labored at another spot, and so on, until
the task was finished. Seeing on my head an uncom-
mon mass of hair, he made many desperate solicitations
to be allowed an opportunity of displaying his skill,
but I steadily resisted the appeal, although it evidently
cut him to the quick.

The bathing-house for the criminal prisoners has
eight compartments. In the ordinary course, I should
have formed one of a detachment of that number, but
an exception was made in my case, and I was always
taken to bathe alone. Behind the bath-room were the
dark cells. I was allowed to inspect these miserable

140 PKI80NEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

black holes. They were damp and fetid, and when the
door was closed you were in ESgyptian darkness. I can-
not conceive that smch horrid punishment is necessary
or justifiable. The prison authorities have every in-
mate absolutely in their power, and if they are obliged
to resort to the black-hole, it must be from want of
foresight or the general imbecility of the system.

The flogging was always done outside the black-hole,
in the bath-room at the foot of the D wing. I have often
heard screaming wretches dragged along thecorridor,and
their cries of agony as their backs were lacerated by
the cat. Singularly, the dinner hour was always
selected for this performance, which must have been a
^reat stimulus to the appetites of new comers. One
man who was lashed told me it was weeks before his
flesh healed. I do not believe ihat the cat and the dark
hole are necessary to prison discipline. They brutalise
4tnd degrade both prisoners and officials.

The doctor was astonished one morning by my appli-
cation for a tooth-brush. Such a thing was never seen
or heard of in a prison. I was obliged therefore to use
my middle finger, which I found a very inefficient sub-
stitute. Another difficulty arose on the shirt question.
The prisoners are allowed a clean outer shirt every
week, and a clean inner shirt every fortnight. I ex-
plained that I would prefer the order reversed, but was
told that I could not be accommodated. But I persisted.
I wearied the upper officials with applications, and finally
obtained a clean kit weekly. Even then I found it
necessary to badger them still further. The fortnightly
intervals between the baths were too long, and at last
I got the Governor to let me have a tub of cold water
in my cell every night. This luxury of cleanliness
was the best feature in the programme, although my
fellow-prisoners appeared to regard it as an unaccount-
able fad.

One or two brief converaations with the Governor
were also an agreeable variation. I found him to be a
disciple and Mend of the late F. D. Maurice, one of
whose books he offered to lend me. He was astonished
^•o find that I had read it, as well as other works by the

vme author, which he had not read. Colonel Milman

PRISON LIFE. 141

expressed a good deal of admiration for Mr. (George
Jacob Holyoa^e, and he was still more astonished when
I told him that this gentleman had occupied a bias*
phemer's cell in the old stirring days, when he fiercely
attacked Christianity instead of flattering it '^ Nothing
would give me greater pleasure/* said the gallant
Gk)yemor, ''than to hear from you some day as a be-
liever." " Sir,*' I replied, " I would not have you en-
tertain any such hope, for it will never be realised.
My Preethought is not a hobby, but a conviction. You
must remember that I have been a Christian, that I
know all that can be said in defence of your creed,
and that I am well acquainted with all your best writers.
I am a Freethinker in spite of this ; I might say because
of it. And can you suppose that my imprisonment
will induce me to regard Christianity with a more
friendly eye? On the contrary, it confirms my belief
that your creed, to which you are personally so superior,
is a curse, and carries the spirit of persecution in its
heart of hearts."

Colonel Milman smiled sadly. He b^fan to see that
the sceptical disease in me was beyond the reach of
physic.

CHAPTER XIII.

PABSON PLAPORD.

The Gospel of Holloway G^l, with which Judge
North essayed my conversion, produced the opposite
effect. Parson Plaford, the prison chaplain, was
admirably adapted by nature to preach it. I have
already referred to his gruff voice. Hegenerally taxed
it in his sermon, and I frequently heard his thunder-
ous accents in the depths of my cell, when he was
preaching to the other half of the establishment. His
personal appearance harmonised with his voice. His

142 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

•countenance was anstere, and his manner overbearing.
The latter trait may have been intensified by his low
stature. It is a fact of general observation that there is
no pomposity like the pomposity of littleness. Parson
Plaf ord may be five feet four, but I would lay any-
thing he is not five feet five. I will, however, do him
the justice of saying that he read the lessons with
clearness and good emphasis, and that he strove to
prevent his criminal congregation from enjoying the
luxury of a stealthy nap. He occasionally furnished
them with some amusement by attempting to lead the
singing. The melody of his voice, which suggested
the croak of an asthmatical raven, threw them into
transports of sinister appreciation ; and the remark-
able manner in which he sometimes displayed the
graces of Christian courtesy to the schoolmaster
afforded them an opportunity of contrasting the chap-
lain with the Governor.

Parson Plaford's deity was an almighty gaoler. The
reverend gentlemen took a prison view of everything.
He had a habit, as I learned, of asking new comers
what was their sentence, and informing them that it
ought to have been twice as long. In his opinion, Gtod
Y^od providentially sent them there to be converted
from sin by the power of his ministry. I cannot say,
however, that the divine experiment was attended with
much success. The chaplain frequently told us from
the pulpit that he had some very promising cases in the
prison, but we never heard that any of them ripened to
maturity. When he informed us of these hopeful
apprentices to conversion, I noticed that the prisoners
near me eyed him as I fancy the Spanish gypsies eyed
George Borrow when they heard him read the Bible.
Their silence was respectful, but there was an eloquent
<3riticism in their squint.

After one of his frequent absences in search of health,
Parson Plaf ord related with great gusto a real case of
•conversion. On one particular morning a prisoner was
released, who expressed sincere repentance for his sins,
And the chaplain's locum tenefis had written in the dis-
charge book that he believed it was " a real case of con-
version to God." That very morning, I found by com-

PABSON PLAFOBD. 143

paring notes, also witnessed the release of Mr. Kemp.
All the parson-power of Holloway Gaol had failed to
shake his Freethonght. His conversion would have
been a feather in the chaplain's hat, but it could not
be accomplished. The utmost that could be achieved
was the conversion of a Christian to Christianity.

On another occasion. Parson Plaford ingenuously
illustrated the character of prison conversions. An old
hand, a well-known criminal who had visited the
establishment with wearisome frequency, was near his
discharge. He had an interview with the chaplain
and begged assistance. " Sir," he said, " I've told you
I was converted before, and you helped me. It wasn't
true, I know ; but I am really converted this time.
Gk)d knows it sir." But the chaplain would not be
imposed upon again. He declined to furnish the man
with the assistance he solicited. ''And then," said the
preacher, with tears in his voice, '' he cursed and swore ;
he called me the vilest names, which I should blush to
repeat, and I had to order him out of the room." " Oh,"
he continued, *' it is an ungrateful world*. But holy
scripture says that in the latter days unthankf ulness
shall abound, and these things are signs that the end is
approaching. Blessed be God, some of us are ready to
meet him." These lachrymose utterances were the pre-
cursors of a long disquisition on his favorite topic — the
end of the world, the grand wind-up of the Lord's
business. We were duly initiated into the mysteries
of prophecy, a subject which, as South said, either
finds a man cracked or leaves him so. The latter days
and the last days were accurately distinguished, and it
was obscurely hinted that we were within measurable
distance of the flaming catastrophe.

Over forty sermons fell from. Parson Plaford's lips
into my critical ears, and I never detected a grain of
sense in any of them. Nor could I gather that he had
read any other book than the Bible. Even that he
appeared to have read villainously, for he seemed
ignorant of much of its contents, and he told us many
things that are not in it. He placed a pen in the fingers
of the man's hand which disturbed Belshazzar's feast,
and gave us many similar additions to holy writ. Yet

144 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

he was singularly devoid of imagination. He took
everything in the Bible literally, even the story of the
descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles in the
shape of cloven tongues of fire. " They were like this,"
he said, making an angle with the knuckles of his fore-
finger on the top of his bald head, and looking at us
with a pathetic air of sincerity. It was the most
ludicrous spectacle I ever witnessed.

During the few visits he paid me, Parson Plaford
was fairly civil. Mr. Ramsey seems to have been the
subject of his impertinence. My fellow-prisoner was
informed that we deserved transportation for life. Yet
at that time the chaplain had not even seen the
publication for which we were imprisoned ! How-
ever, his son had, and he was " a trustworthy young
man." Towards the end of his term Mr. Eamsey
found the charitable heart of the man of God relent so
far as to allow that transportation for life was rather
too heavy a punishment for our offence, which only
deserved perpetual detention in a lunatic asylum.

For the last ten months of my term Parson Plaford
neither honored nor dishonored my cell with his
presence. Soon after I was domiciled in the A wing
he called to see me. I rose from my stool and made
him a satirical bow. This greeting, however, was too
freezing for his effusiveness* Notwithstanding the
opinion of us he had expressed to Mr. Bamsey, and
with which I was of course unacquainted, he extended
his hand as though he had. known me for years.

"Ah," he said, "this is a sorry sight. Your trouble
is mental I know. I wish I could help you, but I
cannot. You are here for breaking the law, you know."^

"Yes," I replied, "such as it is. But the law is
broken every week. Millions of people abstain from
attending church on Sunday, yet there is an unrepealed
law which commands them to."

" Yes, and I'd make them," was the fiery answer from
the little man, as the bigot flamed in his eyes.

" Come now," I said, " you couldn't if you tried."

"Well," he said, "youVe got to suffer. But even if
you are a martyr, you don't suffer what our martyrs
did."

PAB80N FLAFOSD. 145

"Perhapfl not^" I retorted, "but I suffer all your
creed is able to inflict Doesn't it occur to you as
strange and monstrous that Christianity^ which boasts
so of its own martyrs, should in turn persecute all who
differ from it ? Suppose Freethought had the upper
hand, and served you as you serve us : wouldn't you
think it shameful ?*'

" Of course," he blurted. Then, correcting himself,
he added : " But you never will get the upper hand."

" How do you know ?" I asked. " Freethought has
the upper hand in France."

" Yes," he replied, " but that is an infidel country.
It will never be so here."

" But suppose," I continued, " it were so here, and
we imprisoned you for deriding our opinions as you
imprison us for deriding yours. Would you not say
you were persecuted ?"

'' Oh," he said, '' that's a different thing.*'

Mr. Bradlaugh was then mentioned.

" By the way, you're remarkably like him," said the
chaplain.

I thought it a brilliant discovery, and still more so
when I learned, a few minutes later, that he had not
seen Mr. Bradlaugh for thirty years.

Darwin was referred to next.

" I suppose you know he*s been disproved," said the
chaplain, complacently.

" No, I don't^" I answered ; " nor do I quite under-
stand what you mean. What has been disproved ?"

" Why," he said, " I mean that man isn't a monkey."

" Indeed ! " I rejoined ; " I am not aware that Darwin
ever said that man is a monkey. Nor do I think so
myself — except in some extreme cases."

Whether this was construed as a personality or not I
am unable to decide, but our interview soon termi-
nated. Parson Plaford called on me two or three
times during the next few weeks, promised me some
good books to read as soon as the regulations per-
mitted, and fulfilled his promise by never visiting me
again.

Mr. Ramsey was nursed a little longer. I suppose
the chaplain had hopes of him. But he finally relin-

K

146 PBISONEB FOK BIiASFHEMT.

qnished them when Mr. Ramsey said one Monday
morning, on being asked what he thought of yester-
day's sermon, ** 1 wonder how you could talk such
nonsense. "Wliy, I could preach a better sermon
myself."

" Could you ?" bristled the little man. And from
that moment he gave Mr. Ramsey up for lost.

One day the chaplain ran full butt against Mr. Kemp
in the corridor. "Ah," he said, "how are you getting
on ?" Mr. Kemp made a curt reply. The fact was, he
was chewing a small piece of tobacco, an article which
does somehow creep into the prison in minute quanti-
ties, and is swapped for lai^e pieces of bread. Mr. Kemp
was enjoying the luxury, although it would have been
nauseous in other circumstances ; for the prison &u-e
is BO insipid that even a dose of medicine is an agree-
able change. Now Parson Plaford and Mr. Kemp are
about the same height, and lest the chaplain should see
or smell the tobacco, the little blasphemer was obliged
to turn his head aside, hoping the conversatioir would
soon end. But the little parson happened to be in a
loquacious mood, and the interview was painfully pro-
longed. Next Sunday there was a withering sermon
on " infidels," who were described as miserable persons
that " dare not look you in the face."

Parson Plaford seemed to be on very intimate terms
with his maker. If his little finger ached, the Lord
meant something by it. Yet, although he was always
ready to be called home, he was still more ready to
accept the doctor's advice to take a holiday when he
felt unwell. The last sermon I heard him preach was
delivered through a sore throat, a chronic malady
which he exasperated by bawling. He told us that
the work and worry were too much for him, and the
doctor had ordered him rest, if he wished to live.
He was going away for a week or two to see what the
Lord meant to do with him ; and I afterwards heard
some of the prisoners wonder what the Lord was
doing with him. " I speak to you as a dying man,*^
said the chaplain, as he had said several times before
when he felt unwell ; and as it might be the last time
he would ever preach there, he besought somebody, as

PABSON PLAFOBD. 147

a special act of gratitude, to get saved that very
day.

One of the prisoners offered a different reason for the
chaplain's temporary retirement. " He ain't ill, sir. I
knows what 'tis. I was down at the front when your
friend Mr. Ramsey went out. There was a lot of
coaches and people, and the parson looked as white
as a ghost. He thinks ther'll be more coaches and
people when you goes out, and he's gone off sooner
than see 'em/'

During the chaplain's absences his locimi tenens was
usually a gentleman of very opposite characteristics.
He was tall, thin, modest, and even diffident. He
slipped into your cell, as I said before, with the
deferential air of an undertaker. His speech was
extremely soft, and rapid, although he stuttered a little
now and then from nervousness. "I suppose you know,'*
I asked on his first visit, ^^ what I am here for ? **
" Y-e-s," he stammered, with something like a blush.
I said no more, for it was evident he wished to avoid
the subject, and I really think he was sorry to see me
persecuted in the name of Christ. He had called, he
said, to see whether he could do anything for me.
Could he lend me any books ? I thanked him for the
proffered kindness, but I had my own books to read by
that time. Mr. Stubbs's sermons were much superior
to Mr. Plaf ord's. They were almost too good for the
congregation. He dwelt with fondness on the tender
side of Christ's character, and seemed to look forward
to a heaven which would ultimately contain every-
body.

On one occasion we had a phenomenal old gentle-
man in the pulpit. He was white-haired but florid.
His appearance was remarkably youthful, and his voice
sonorous. I heard that he was assistant chaplain at
one of the other London prisons. With the most
exemplary fidelity he went through the morning
service, omitting nothing ; unlike Parson Plaf ord, who
shortened it to leave time for his sermon. I wondered
whether he. would get through it by dinner-time, or
whether he would continue it in the sdEternoon. But he
just managed to secure ten minutes for his sermon, which

148 PRISONEB FOB BXiASPHBMY.

began with these extraordinary words, that were sung
ont at the top of his voice : *^ When the philosopher
observes zoophyte formations on the tops of monntains,
he/* etc. How singularly appropriate it was to the
congregation. The sermon was not exactly '* Oreek '^
to them, but it was all " zoophyte." I heard some of them
wonder when that funny old boy was coming again.

The prisoners sit in chapel on backless benches, tier
above tier, from the rails in front of the clerk's desk
almost to the roof behind. Two comers are boarded
off within the rails, one for the F wing and the other
for the debtors* wing. Above them is a long gallery,
with private boxes for the governor, the doctor and the
chief warder, and a pulpit for the chaplain. Parson
Plaf ord used to make a great, noise in closing the heavy
door behind the pulpit, leading to the front of the
prison ; and he rattled the keys as though he loved the
the sound. He placed them on the desk beside the
*^ sacred volome,'' and I used to think that the Bible
and the keys went well together. In offering his first
private prayer, as well as in his last after the benedic-
tion, he always covered his face with the sleeve of his
robe, lest, I suppose, the glory of his countenance, while
communicating wi^ his maker, should afflict us as the
insufferable splendor of the face of Moses afflicted the
Jews at Mount Sinai. His audible prayers were made
kneeling with clasped hands and upturned face. His
eyes were closed tightly, his features were painfully
contracted, and his voice was a falsetto squeak. I fancy
the Governor must have sighed at the performance.
The doctor never troubled to attend it.

The prisoners were supposed to cross their hands in
front while in chapel. Several unsuccessful attempts
were made to induce me to conform to the regulation.
I declined to strike prescribed attitudes. Another rule,
pretty rigorously enforced, was that the prisoners
should look straight before them. If a head was turned
aside, an officer bawled out " Look to your front." I
once heard the injunction ludicrously interpolated in
the service. *' Dearly beloved brethren," said the
chaplain. " Look to your front," growled the officer.
It was text and comment.

PABSOK PliAFOBD. 149

Only once did I see a prisoner impressed. The man
sat next to me ; his face was red, and he stared at the
chaplain with a pair of goggle eyes. Snrely, I thought^
the parson is producing an effect. As we were march-
ing back to our cells I heard a sigh. Tmning round,
I saw my harvest-moon-faced friend in an ecstacy. It
was Snnday morning, and near dinner time. Raising
his hands, while his goggle eyes gleamed like wet
pebbles, the fellow ejaculated — " Pudden next."

I have already referred to the chapel music, in
which the schoolmaster played such a distinguished
part. A few more notes on this subject may not be
out of place. There was a choir of a dozen or so
prisoners, most of whom were long-term men in some
position of trust. Short-timers are not, I belieye,
eligible for membership ; indeed, the whole public
opinion of the establishment is against these unfortu-
nates, who have committed no crime worth speaking
of ; and I still remember with what a look of disgust
the worthy schoolmaster once described them to me as
"Mere parasites, here to-day and gone to-morrow.*'
Having a bit of a voice, I was invited to join the sweet
psalmists of Holloway ; but I explained that I was only
a spectator of the chapel performances, and could not
possibly become an assistant. The privileges enjoyed
by the choristers are not, however, to be despised.
They drop their work two or three times a week for
practice, and they have an advantage in matters which
are trifling enough outside, but very important in
prison. In chapel they sit together on the front
benches, and if they smile and whisper they are
not so sharply reprimanded as the common herd be-
hind them.

Another privieged class were the cooks, who occu-
pied the last bench, and rested their backs against
the wall. They were easily distinguished by their
hair being greased, no other prisoners having fat
enough to waste on such a luxury.

Saturday morning's chapel hour was devoted to gene**
ral practice, which was known as the cat's chorus
Imagine three or four hundred prisoners all learning a
new tune 1 Some of the loudest voices were the most un-

150 PRISONEB FOB BLASPHEBCT.

musical, and the warblers at the rear were generally
behind in time as well as in space. How they floundered,
gaspedy broke down, got up again, and shuffled along
as before till the next collapse I Sometimes tliey gave
it up as hopeless, a few first, and then others, until
some silly fellow was left shrilling alone, when he too
would suddenly stop, as though frightened at the sound
of his own voice.

I noticed, however, that whenever an evangelical
hymn was sung to an old familiar tune, they all joined
in, and rattled through it with great satisfaction.
This confirmed the notion I had acquired from pre-
vious reading, that nine out of every ten prisoners in
our English gaols have been Sunday-school children,
or attendants at church or chapel. Scepticism has not
led them to gaol, and religion has not kept them out
of it.

Parson Plaf ord, as I have said, never visited me after
the second month. He heard my defence on the third
trial before Lord Coleridge, and sadly confessed to Mr.
Kamsey that he was afraid I was a hardened sinner.
He appears to have had some hopes of my fellow
prisoner, whom he continued to visit for another
month. Mr. Ramsey encouraged him in doing so, for
a conversation with anyone and on anything is a wel-
come break in the monotony of silence. But when he
got books to read there was less need of these inter-
views, and they soon ceased. Mr. Ramsey informs me,
however, that the chaplain called on him just before
he left, and asked whether he could offer any sugges-
tions as to the '* system." The old gentleman admitted
that he had been operating on prisoners for over twenty
years without the least success.

The chaplain often confided to us in his sermons that
prisoners came to him pretending they had derived
great good from his ministrations, only in order to
gain some little privilege. I learned also, from casual
conversations in the exercise-ground, that the old
gentleman had his favorites, who were not always held
in the same esteem and affection by their companions.
They were generally regarded as spies and tell-tales,
and the men were very cautious of what they said

PABSON FUkFOBD. 151

and did in the presence of these elect. Piety was looked
upon as a species of humbug, although (so persistent is
human nature) a really good, generous man would
have been liked and respected. '^ / could be pious for
a pound a day," said one prisoner in my hearing, with
reference to the chaplain's salary. ^* Yes," said the man
he spoke to, " so could I, or 'arf of it."

One Sunday the lesson was the story of Peter's
miraculous rescue from prison. *^Ah," said an old
fellow to his pal, '' that was a good yarn we heard this
morning. I'd like to see th' angel git 'im out o' Hol-
loway."

Parson Plaf ord was evangelical, but a thorough
Churchman, and he had a strong preference for those
of his own sect. There was in tiie prison a young
fellow, the son of a wealthy member of Parliament,
whose name I need not disclose. He was doing
eighteen months for getting into difficulties on the
turf, and mistaking his father's name for his bwn.
Having plenty of money, he was able to establish com-
munication with his friends outside ; and this being
detected, the Governor kept him constantly on the
move from wing to wing, and corridor to corridor, so
that he might beive no time to grow familiar with the
officers and corrupt their integrity. The plan was a
good one, but it did not succeed. Young officers, who
work ninety or a hundred hours a week, with only two
off Sundays in three months, for twenty-three shillings,
cannot always be expected to resist a bribe.

The young scapegrace I refer to was very anxious to
get out of his cell, and he applied to the chaplain for
the post of schoolmaster's assistant. The duties of this
office are to help bind the books and keep the library
catalogue, and to carry Uie basket of literature when
the schoolmaster goes the round. Parson Plaf ord would
not entertain the application. " No," he said, " I begin
to think your religious notions are very unsound. I
must have a good Churchman for the post." Well, the
chaplain got his good Churchman ; it was an old hand,
sentenced twice before to long terms for felony, and
then doing another five or seven years for burglary and
assaxdt.

152 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHE9IY.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE THIRD TBIAL.

Prison life ie monotonous. Day follows day in weary
succession. Except for the card on your door you
might lose count of the weeks and forget the date*
I went on eating my miserable food with such appetite
as I had ; I crawled between heaven and earth for
one hour in every twenty-four ; I picked my fibre to
kill the time ; and I waded through my only book,
the Bible, with the patience of a mule. Weeks rolled
by with only one remarkable feature, and that was
Good Friday. The " sacred day " was observed as a
Sabbath. There was no work and no play. Christians
outside were celebrating the Passion of their Redeemer
with plenteous eating and copious drinking, and
dance and song ; while I and my two fellow-prisoners,
who had no special cause for sadness on that day,
were compelled to spend it like hermits. Chapel
hours brought the only relief. Parson Plaf ord thought
it an auspicious occasion for preaching one of his sil*
liest sermons, and when I returned to my cell I was
greatly refreshed. Opening my Bible, I read the four
accounts of the Crucifixion, and marvelled how so
many millions of people could regard them as con*
sistent histories, until I reflected that they never
took the trouble to read them one after another at a
single sitting.

Once or twice I caught a glimpse of Mr. Ramsey in
chapel, and I occasionaJly saw Mr. Kemp in the exer-
cise-ground. But I knew nothing of what was going
on outside. One day, however, the outer silence was
broken. The Governor entered my cell in the morning,
and told me he had received a letter from Mr. Brad-
laugh, stating that our original Indictment (in which
he was included) would be tried in a few days, and
that he had an order from the Home Ofi&ce to see Mr.
Ramsey and me separately. It was some day early in

THE THIBD TBIAL. 15$

April ; I forget exactly when. But I recollect that
Mr. Bradlangh came up the same afternoon. He saw
me in the Governor's office. We shook hands heartily,
and plunged into conversation, while the Governor sat
turning over papers at his desk.

Mr. Bradlangh told me how our Indictment stood.
It would be tried very soon. He was going to insist
on being tried separately, and had no doubt he should
be. In that event, his case would precede ours. What
did 1 intend to do? His advice was that I should plead
inability to defend myself while in prison, and ask for
a postponement until after my release. If that were
done he believed I should never hear of the Indict-
ment again.

My view was different. I doubted whether another
conviction would add to my sentence, and I was
anxious to secure the moral advantage of a careful and
spirited defence in the Court of Queen's Bench before
the Lord Chief Justice of England. The Governor had
already supplied me with writing materials, and I had
begun to draw up a list of books I might require,
which I intended to send to Mr. Wheeler;

•*0h," said Mr. Bradlangh, brusquely, "you need
not send anything to Mr. Wheeler ; he's gone insane.'"

" What I" I gasped. The room darkened to my vision
as though the sun had been blotted out. The blow
went to my heart like a dagger.

" Come," said Mr. Bradlangh in a kinder tone, " if
you take the news in that way I shall tell you no
more."

" It is over," I answered. " Pray go on."

I crushed down my feelings, but it was not over.
Mr. Bradlangh did not know the nature of my friend-
ship with Mr. Wheeler ; how old and deep it was, how
inwrought with the roots of my being. When I re-
turned to my cell I went through my agony and bloody
sweat. I know not how long it lasted. For awhile I
stood like a stone image ; anon I paced up and down
like a caged tiger. One word burned like a lurid sun
through a bloody mist. Mad! The school-master
called on business. " Don't speak," I said. He cast a
frightened look at my face and retired. At length

154 PBI80NEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

relief came. The thnnder-dond of grief poured itself
in a torrent of tears, the only ones my persecutors ever
wrung from me. Over the flood of sorrow rose the rain-
bow of hope. He is only broken down, I thought ;
his delicate organisation has succumbed to a trial too
great for its strength ; rest and generous attention will
restore him. Courage ! All will be well.

And all is well. My friend is by my side again.
He had relapses after his first recovery, for it was an
awful blow ; but I was in time to shield him from the
worst of these. Scientific treatment, and a long stay
at the seaside, renovated his frame. He has worked
with me daily since at our old task, and I trust
we shall labor together till there comes " The poppied
sleep, the end of all."

I spent the next few days in preparing a new de-
fence for my third trial for Blasphemy. During that
time I was allowed an interview with two friends
every afternoon. Mrs. Besant was one of my earliest
visitors. I learned that the Freethinker was still ap-
pearing under the editorship of Dr. E. B. Aveling,
who conducted it until my release ; and that the busi-
ness affairs of Mr. Ramsey and myself were being ably
and vigilantly superintended by a committee consisting
of Mrs. Besant, and Messrs. R. 0. Smith, A. Hilditch,
J. Grout, G. Standring and C. Herbert. There was, in
addition, a Prisoners' Aid Fund opened and liberally
subscribed to, out of which our wives and families
were provided for.

On the morning of April 10, soon after breakfast,
and while the prisoners were marshalling for chapel, I
was conducted to a cell in front of the gaol, and per-
mitted to array myself once more in a civilised cos-
tume. My clothes, like myself, were none the better
for their imprisonment ; but I felt a new man as I
donned them, and trolled operatic airs, while warder
Smith cried," Hush r

Mr. Ramsey went through a similar process. We
met in the great hall, and in defiance of all rules and
regulations, I shook him heartily by the hand. He
looked thin, pale, and careworn ; and the new growth
of hair on his chin did not add to his good looks.

THE THIBD TBIAL. 155

After our third trial he got stout again, and it was I
who scaled less and less. Perhaps his shoemaking
gave him a better appetite ; and perhaps I studied too
much for the quantity and quality of prison blood.

B^h of us was accommodated with a fotd"- wheeler,
and a warder armed with a cutlass to guard us from
all danger. It was a beautiful spring morning, and
the sunlight looked glorious as we rattled down the
Cfidedonian Road. I felt new-bom. The early flowers
in the street barrows were miracles of loveliness, and
the very vegetables had a supernal charm. Tradesmen's
names over their shops were wonderfully vivid. Every
letter seemed fresh-painted, and after the dinginess of
prison, the crude decorations struck me as worthy of
the old masters.

Arriving at the rear of the Law Courts, we found
many friends awaiting us. Colonel Milman was
obliged to protect us from their demonstrations of
welcome. Everyone of them seemed desirous to wring
off an arm as a souvenir of the occasion. Inside I
met Mr. Bradlaugh, Mrs. Besant, Dr. Aveling, and a
host of other friends. My wife looked pale and
haggard. She had evidently suffered much. But see-
ing me again was a great relief, and she bore the
remainder of her long trial with more cheerfulness.

Mr. Bradlaugh's trial lasted three days, and we were
brought up on each occasion. It was what the Ameri-
cans call a fine time. A grateful country found us in
cabs and attendants, and our friends found us in
dinner. When the first day's adjournment came at
one o'clock, my counsel, Mr. Cluer, asked what he
should order for us. " What a question !" we cried.
^Something soon, and plenty of if It was boiled
mutton, turnips, and potatoes. We proved ourselves
excellent trenchermen, for it was our first square meal
tot weeks ; and a group, including some of the jury,
watched us feed.

Lord Coleridge's summing up in Mr. Bradlaugh's
case was a wonderful piece of art. The even beauty
of his voice, the dignity of his manner, the pathetic
gravity with which he appealed to the jury to cast
aside all prejudice against the defendant, combined to

156 PBI80NEB FOB BLASPHEMT.

render his charge one of the great memories of my
life.

The jury retired for half an hoar, and returned
with a verdict of Not Guilty I Mr. Bradlangh was
deeply affected. I shook his hand without a word, for
I was speechless. I was inexpressibly glad that the
enemy had not crippled him in his parliamentary
struggle, and that his recent victory in the House of
Lords, after years of litigation, was crowned by a
happy escape from their worst design.

Our trial took place the next week, and lasted only
two days, as we had no technical points to argue. ' Mr.
Wheeler came up from Worcestershire to see me. He
was still very weak, and obviously suffering from in-
tense excitement. Still it was a pleasure to see his
face and clasp his hand.

Sir Hardinge Giffard gloomed on us with his wintry
face, but he left the conduct of the case almost entirely
to Mr. Maloney. The evidence against us was over-
powering, and we did not seriously contest it. Mr.
Ramsey read a brief speech after lunch, and precisely
at two o'clock I rose to make my defence, which lasted
two hours and forty minutes.

The table before me was crowded with books and
papers, and I held a sheet of references that looked
like a brief. My first step was to pay Judge North an
instalment of the debt I owed him.

" My lord, and gentlemen of the jiiiy, — I am very happy, not
to stand in this position, but to learn what I had not learned
before — ^how a criminal trial should be conducted, notwithstand-
ing that two months ago I was tried in another court, and before
another judge. Fortunately, the learned counsel who are con-
ducting this prosecution have not now a judge who will allow
them to walk out of court while he argues uieir brief for them in
their absence.*'

Lord Coleridge interrupted me. " You must learn
one more lesson, Mr. Foote, and that is, that one judge
cannot hear another judge censured, or even com-
mended."

I was checkmated, but taking it with a good grace, I
said :

« My lord, I thank you for the correction. And I will simply

THE TUIUb TBIAL. 157

confine the observations I miffht have made on that subject to
the emphatic statement that I have leamt to-day, for the first
time — uthongh this is the second time I have had to answer a
criminal charge-^how a criminal trial should be conducted.'* *

His lordship did not interrupt me again. During the
whole of my long defence he leaned his head upon his
hand, and looked steadily at me, without once shifting
his gaze.

To put the jury in a good frame of mind I told them
that two months before I fell among thieves, and con-
gratulated myself on being able to talk to twelve honest
men. In order, also, that they might be disabused of
the idea that we were being treated as first-class mis-
demeanants, I informed them of the discipline we
were really subjected to ;, and I saw that this aroused
their sympathy.

Those who wish to read my defence in extenso will
find it in the " Three Trials for Blasphemy." I shall con-
tent myself hers with a few points. Iquoted heretical, and,
as I contended, blasphemous passages from the writings
of Professor Huxley, Dr. Maudsley, Herbert Spencer,
John Stuart Mill, Matthew Arnold, Lord Amberly,
the Duke of Somerset, Shelley, Byron, James Thom-
son, Algernon Swinburne, and others ; and I urged
that the only difference between these passages and the
incriminated parts of my paper consisted in the price
at which they were published. Why, I asked, should
the high-class blasphemer be petted by society, and the
low-class blasphemer be made to bear their sins, and
driven forth into the wilderness of HoUoway Gaol ?

Lord Coleridge, in his summing up, supported my
view, and his admission is so important that I venture
to give it in full.

" With regard to some of the others from whom Mr. Foote
quoted passages, I heard many of them for the first time. I do not
at all question that Mr. Foote read them correctly. They are
passages which, hearing them only from him for tiie first time,
X confess I have a difficulty in distinguishing from the incrimi-
nated publication. They do appear to me to be open to
ezacUy the same charge and the same grounds of observation
Uiat Mr. Footers publications are. He says — and I don^t call
upon him to prove it, I am quite willing to take his word — ^he
says many of these things are written in expensive books, pub-

1,58 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

lished by publishers of known eminence, and that they circulate
in ihe drawing-rooms, studies, and libraries of persons of position.
It may be so. All I can say here is — and so far I can answer
for myself — ^I would make no distinction between Mr. Foote
and anybody else ; and if there are persons, however eminent
they may be, who used language, not fairly distipguishable from
that used by Mr. Foote, and if they are ever brought before
me — ^which I hope they neyer may be, for a more troublesome
or disagreeable business can never be inflicted upon me — if they
come before me, so far as my poor powers go they shall have
neither more nor less than the justice I am trying to do to Mr.
Foote ; and if they offend the Blasphemy Laws they shall find
that so long as these laws exist— wiiatever I may think about
their wisdom — they will have but one rule of law laid down in
tills court."

Another point I raised, which I neglected in my pre-
vions defences, was this. What is it that men have a
right to at law ?

''Every man has a right to three things — ^protection for

Serson, property and character, and all that can be legitimately
erived from these. The ordinary law of libel gives a man
Erotection for his character, but it is surely monstrous that
e should claim protection for his opinions and tastes. All that
he can claim is that his taste shall not be violentiy outraged
against his wilL I hope, gentlemen, you will take that rational
view of the question. .We have libelled no man's chiu^acter, we
have invaded no man's person or property. This crime is a con-
structed crime, originally manufactured by priests in the interest
of their own order to put down dissent and heresy. It now
lingers amongst us as a legacy utterly alien to the spirit of
Qur age, which unfortunately we have not had resolution enough
to cast among those absurdities which Time holds in his ^^et
of oblivion."

My peroration is the only other part of the defence
which I shall extract.

" Gentlemen, I have more than a personal interest in the result
of this trial I am anxious for the rights and liberties of thousands
of my countrymen. Youi^ as I am, I have for many years fought
for my principles, taken soldier's wages when there were any, and
gone cheerfully without when there were none, and fought on
aU the same, as I mean to do to the end ; and I am doomed
to the torture of twelve months' imprisonment by the verdict
and judgment of thirteen men, whose sacrifices for conviction
may not equal mine. The bitterness of my fate can scarcely be
enhanced by your verdict. Tet this does not diTni'ttifl h my Boiici-

THE THIBD TBIAL. 15&

tude as to its character. If, after the recent acandaloua proceed-
ings in another court, yon, as a special jury in this High Court
of Justice, bring in a verdict of Guilty against me and my co-
defendant, you will decisively inaugurate a new era of persecu*
tion, in wluch no advantage can accrue to truth or morality,
but in which fierce passions will be kindled, oppression and
resistance matched against each other, and the land perhaps
disgraced with violence and stained with bloodl But if , as I
hope, you return a verdict of Not Guilty, you will check that
spirit of bigotry and fanaticism which is fully aroused and
eagerly awaiting the signal to begin its evil work ; you will close
a melancholy and discreditable chapter of historv ; you will pro-
claim that henceforth the press shall be absolutely free, unless it
Ubel men^s characters or contain incitements to crime, and tiiat
all offences against belief and taste shall be left to the great
jury of public opinion ; you will earn the gratitude of aJl who
value liberty as uie jewel of their souls, and independence as the
crown of their manhood ; you will save your country from be-
coming ridiculous in the eyes of nations that we are accustomed
to consider as less enlightened and free ; and vou will earn for
yourselves a proud place in the annals of its nreedom, its pro-
gress, and its glory/^

I delivered this appeal to the jury as impressively as
I could. There was a solemn silence in court A storm
clond gathered while I spoke, and heavy drops of rain
fell on the roof as I concluded.

Lord Coleridge lifted his elbow from his desk, and
addressed the jury :

"Gentlemen, I should have been glad to have summed up
this evening, but tiie truth is, I am not very strong, and I pro-
pose, therefore, to address you in the morning, and that will
give you a full opportunity of reflecting calmly on the very
striking and able speech you have just heard."

My defence was a great effort, and it exhausted me. Until
I had to exert myself I did not know how the confinement
and the prison fare had weakened me. The reader will
understand the position better if I remind him that the
only materisd preparation I had in the morning for the
task of defending myself against Sir Hardinge Oiffard
and Mr.Maloney was six ounces of dry bread and a little
thin cocoa, which the doctor had ordered instead of
the "skilly" to stop my diarrhoea. The Governor
kindly allowed one of my friends to fetch me a little
brandy. Then we drove back to prison, where I had

160 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

some more dry bread and thin cocoa. The next mom-
ingy after an exactly similar meal, we drove do^vim
again to the court.

Lord Coleridge's snmming-np lasted nearly two
hours, and, like my defence, it was listened to by a
crowded court, which included a large number of gen-
tlemen of the wig and gown. His lordship's address
is reported at length in the ^^ Three Trials for Blas-
phemy,'' and a revised copy was published by himself.
His view of the law has been dealt with already in
my Preface. What I wish to say here is, that Loid
Coleridge's demeanor was in marked contrast with
Judge North's. I cannot do better than quote a few
passages from an open letter I addressed to his lordship
soon after my release :

"How were my feelings modified by your lordship's lofty
bearing ! I found myself in the presence of a judge who was
a gentleman. You treated me with impartiality, and a generous
consideration for my misfortunea No one could doubt your
sincerity when, in the .midst of a legal illustration which might
be construed as a reflection on my character, you suddenly
checked yourself, and said, * I mean no offence to Mr. Foote. I
should be unworthy of my position if I insulted anyone in his.*
You were scrupulously, aunost painfully, careful to say nothing
that could assist the prosecution or wound my susceptibilitiea
You appeared to tremble lest your own convictions should pre-
judice you, and the jury through you, against me and my f euow
prisoner. You listened with the deepest attention to my long
address to the jury. You discussed aU my arguments that you
considered essential in your summing-up ; and you strengthened
some of them, while deprecating others, with a logical force and
beauty of expression which were at once my admiration and my
despair. You paid me such handsome compliments on my de-
fence in the most trying circumstances as dispelled at once the
orthodox theory that I was a mere vulgar criminal In brief, my
lord, you displayed such a lofty spirit of justice, such atendeness
of humanity, and such a dignity of bearing, that you commanded
my admiration, my reverence and my love ; and if the jury had
convicted me, and your lordship had felt obliged by the ' unplea-
sant law' to inflict upon me some measure of pimishment, I
could stUl have kissed the hand that dealt the blow.

" I know how repulsive flattery must be to a nature like yours,
but your lordship will pardon one who is no sycophant, who
seeks neither to avert your frown nor to gain your favor,
who has no sinister object in view, but sim^dy speaks from the

THE THIRD TRIAL. 161

falness of a grateful heart And yoa will pardon me if I say that
my sentiments are shared by thousands, who hate your creed
but respect your character. They watched you throughout my
trial with the keenest interest, and they rejoiced when they saw
in YOU those noble himan qualities which transcend all dogmas
and creeds, and dwarf all differences of opinion into absolnte
insignificance."

Lord Coleridge also de9erveB my thanks for the
handsome manner in which he seconded my efforts
to repudiate the odious charge of " indecency,'^ which
had been manufactured by the bigots after my im^
prisonment. These are his lordship^s words :

*< Mr. Foote is anxious to haye it impressed on your minds that
he is not a licentious writer, and that this word does not fairly
apply to his publications. You wiU have the documents before
you, and you must judge for yourselyes. I should say that he is
light. He may be blasphemous, but he certainly is not licentious,
in the ordinary sense of the word; and you do not find him
pandering to the bad passions of mankind."

I ask my readers to notice these clear and emphatic
sentences, for we shall recur to them in the next
chapter.

The jury retired at twenty minutes past twelve. At
three minutes past five they were discharged, being^
unable to agree. It was a glorious victory. Acquittal
was hopeless, but no verdict amounted practically to
the same thing. Two juries out of three had already
disagreed, and as the verdict of Guilty by the third
had been won through the scandalous partiality and
mean artifices of a bigoted judge, the results of our
prosecution afforded little encouragement to fresh
attacks on the liberty of the press.

I have since had the pleasure of conversing with one
of the jury. Himself and two others held out against
a verdict of Ouilty, and he told me that the discussion
was extremely animated. My informant acted on
principle. He confessed he did not like my carica-
tures, and he considered my attacks on the Bible too
severe ; but he held that I had a perfect right to ridicule
Christianity if I thought fit, and he refused to treat
any method of attacking opinions as a crime. Of the
other two jurors, one was convinced by my address^

162 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

and the other declared that he was not going to assist
in imprisoning like a thief ^* a man who could make a
speech like tlmt."

The next day I asked Lord Coleridge not to try the
case again for a few days, as I was physically unable
to conduct my defence. His lordship said :

" T have just been informed, and I hardly knew it before, what
such imprisonment as yours means, and what, in the form it has
been innicted on you, it must mean ; but now that I do know of
it, I will take care that the proper authorities know of it also, and
I will see that you have proper support.''

His lordship added that he would see I had proper
food, and he would take the defence whenever I
pleased. We fixed the following Tuesday. During the
interim our meals were provided from the public-
house opposite the prison gates. My diarrhoea ceased
at once, and I so far recovered my old form that I felt
ready to fight twenty GiflEards. But we did not en-
counter each other again. Feeling assured that if Lord
Coleridge continued to try the case, as he obviously
meant to until it was disposed of, they would never
obtain a verdict, the prosecution secured a nolle prose-
qui from the Attorney-General. It was procured by
means of an affidavit, containing what his lordship
branded as an absolute falsehood. So the prosecution,
which began in bigotry and malice, ended appro-
priately in a lie.

CHAPTER XV.

LOSS AND GAIN.

Our victory in the Court of Queen's Bench was an
unmitigated loss to Sir Henry Tyler and his backers,
for it tSirew upon them the whole costs of the prosecu-
tion. It was also a loss to ourselves ; for I have it on
the best authority that, if we had been found guilty,
Lord Coleridge would have made his sentence con-

LOBS AND OAIX 163

current with Judge North's^ and shifted ns from the
criminal to the civil side of the prison, where we
should have enjoyed each other's society, worn our
own clothes, eaten our own food, seen our friends
frequently, received and answered letters, and
spent our time in rational occupations. To the
Freethought cause, however, our victory was a pure
gain. As I had anticipated, the press gave our new
trial a good deal of attention. The Daily News
printed a leading article on the case, calling on the
Home Secretary to remit the test of our sentence.
The Times published a long and admirable report of
my defence, as well as of Lord Coleridge^s summing-
up, and predicted that the trial would be historical,
•* chiefly because of the remarkable defence made by
one of the defendants.'* A similar prediction appeared
in the Manchester Weekly TimeSy according to which
'Uhe defendant Foote argued his. case wi^ consum-
mate skill.'' Across the Atlantic, the New York
World said that " Mr. Foote, in particular, delivered a
speech which, for closeness of argument and vividness
of presentation, has not often been equalled." Even
the grave and reverend Westminster Review found
"after reading what the Lord Chief Justice himself
characterises as Mr. Foote's very striking and able
speech, that the editor of the Freethinker is very far
from being the vulgar and uneducated disputant which
the ^^totor appears to have supposed him." Other
Liberal papers, like the Pall Mall Gazette and the
Referee^ that had at first joined in the chorus of
execration over the fallen " blasphemer," now found
that my sentence was " monstrous."

So true is it that nothing succeeds like success I I
did not let these compliments turn my head. My
speeches at the Old Bailey were little, if anything,
inferior to the one I made in the Court of Queen's
Bench. There was no change in me, but only In the
platform I spoke from. The great fact to my mind
was this, that given an impartial judge, and a
fair trisd, it was difiBlcult to convict any Free-
thinker of '' blasphemy" if he could only defend
himself with some courage and address. This fact

164 PRISONEB FOB BLASPHRMT.

shone like a star of hope in the night of my snfiEeringr^
As I said in one of my three letters from prison : ^^ For
the first time juries have disagreed, and chances are
already slightly against a verdict of Oailty. Now the
jury is the hand by which the enemy grasps us, and
when we have absolutely secured the twelfth man we
shall have amputated the thumh,^^

On May 1 the following letter from Admiral Maxse
appeared in the Daily News : —

"TO THE EDITOR OF THE * DAILY NEWS.*

" Sir, — ^Mr. Footers brilliant defence last week will probably
have awakened some fastidious critics to their error in having
depicted him as a low and coarse controversialist, while Lord
Coleridge's judgment will have convinced the public that had
Lord Coleridge occupied the place of Justice North, the de-
fendant would have escaped with a mild penalty Li the
meantime, Mr. Foote continues to undergo what is virtually
* solitary confinement' in a cell, and is condemned to this
punishment for a year. A more wicked sentence, or a more
wicked law, than tne one which Mr. Foote and his companions
suffer from, is, in my opinion, impossible to conceive, that
IS to say in a country which professes to enjoy religious
liberty. His crime consisted in caricaturing a grot^que
representation of a religion which has certainly a higher side.
People who are truly religious should be obliged to Mr.
Foote, if he managed to shock some people concerning any
feature of religion which is gross and degrading to that
religion. I know something of Mr. Foote, and I am quite
certain he would not say anything to shock a refined interpre-
tation of religion. Befined Christians are anxious themselves
to get rid of tike excrescences of their creed. The question at
issue really is as to whether a coarse picture of religion, and
of one religion only, is to be protected by the State from
caricature, and from caricature alone ; because it seems to be
granted that an intellectual absurdity may be intellectually
impeached. It is impossible such a monstrous doctrine ' as
this can stand. It wUl pass away, and probably in a lew
years it will be remembered with some astonidmient ; but
oppressive and ^rsecuting laws are only got rid of by the
spectacle of an unpaled victim. *Bv the light of burning
heretics Christ's bleeding feet I tract.' The impaled victim
is now Mr. Foote. It is a disgrace to England that his solitary
confinement — ^twenty-three out of the twenty-four hours are
solitary — or indeed, that any punishment whatever is possible
for a man's style in reUgious controversy ; and to a Liberal it
is profoundly humiliating that such a proceeding takes place

LOSS AND GAIN.

165

tmder a liberal Grovenmient and without one word of remon-
strance in the House of Commons. Where are the Radic^? —
Yours obediently, Fbkdk. A. Maxse.

« April SOth.**

liet me take this opportunity of thanking Admiral
Maxse for his conrageons generosity on my behalf.
Directly he heard of my infamous sentence he wrote
me a brave letter, which the prison roles forbade my
receiving, stating that he would join in any agitation
for my release, or for the repeal of the wretched law
under which I was suflEering " the utmost mart3rrdom
which society can at present impose.^' I have always
regarded Admiral Maxse as one of the purest and
noblest of our public men, and I valued his sympathy
even more than his assistance.

Further correspondence appeared in the Daily News^
and the Liberal papers called on Sir William Harcourt
to intervene. Memorials for our release flowed in from
all parts of the country. One of these deserves especial
mention. The signatures were procured, at great
expense of time and labor, by Dr. E. B. Aveling and
an eminent psychologist who desired to avoid pub-
licity. Among them I find the following names : —

Admiral Maxse

C. Crompton, Q.C.

Charles Maclaren, MP.

Dr. G. J. Romanes

Dr. Charlton Bastian

Dr. Edward Clodd

Dr. E B. Tjrlor

Dr. W.Aldis Wright

Dr. Macaliister

Dr. £. Bond

Dr. J. H. Jackson

Dr. H. Maadsley

Editor Da% Newt

Editor Spectator

Editor Academy

Editor Manchuter Examner

Editor Liverpool Bails ^^^

Francis Galton

F. Guthrie, F.R.&
Frederick Harrison

G. H. Darwin

George Bullen
George Du Manrier
George Dixon
Henry Sidgwick.
Herbert Spencer
Hen. E Lyulph Stanley, M.F.
J. Cotter Morison
Jonathan Hutchinson
John Collier
John Pettie
James Sully
Leslie Steimen
lient-CoL Osborne
P. A Taylor, M.P.
Professor Alexander Bain
Professor Huxley
Professor Tyndall
Professor Ejiight
Professor E. & Beesly
Professor H. S. Foxwell
Professor R. Adamson

166 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

Professor G. Croom Bobertson

Professor £. Bay Lancaster

Professor Drummond

Professor T. Rhys Davids

R. H. Moncrieff

Rev. J. Llewellyn Davies

Rev. Dr. Abbot

Rev. A. Ainger

Rev. Stopfonl A. Brooke

Rev. Dr. Fairbaim

Rev. R. Glover

Rev. J. G. Rogers

Rev. J. Aldis

Rev. Charles Beard

Rev. Dr. Crosskey

S. H. Vines

The Mayor of Birmingham

I doubt whether such a memorial, signed by so
many illnstrious men, was ever before presented to a
Home Secretary for the release of any prisoners. But
it made no impression on Sir William Harconrt, for
the simple reason that the signatories were not politi-
cians, but only men of genius. As the Weekly Dis--
patch said, "Sir William Harcourt never does the
right thing when he has a chance of going wrong."
The Echo also " regretted " the Home Secretary's de-
cision, while the Pall Mall Gazette, then under the
editorship of Mr. John Morley, concluded its article
on the subject by saying, " The fact remains that Mr.
Foote is suffering a scandalously excessive punishment,
and that the Home Office must now share the general
condemnation that has hitherto been confined to the
judge."

On July 11 a mass meeting was held in St. James's
Hall to protest against our continued imprisonment.
Despite the summer weather, the huge building wa»
crammed with people, every inch of standing room
being occupied, and thousands turned away from the
doors. Letters of sympathy were sent by Canon Shut-
tleworth. Admiral Maxse and Mr. P. A. Taylor M.P.,
Among the speakers were the Rev. W. Sharman, the
Rev. S. D. Headlam, the Rev. E. M. Geldart, Mr. C.
Bradlaugh M.P., Mrs. Annie Besant, Dr. E. B. Aveling,
Mr. Joseph Symes, Mr. Moncure D. Conway and Mr.
H. Burrows. The greatest enthusiasm prevailed, and
the resolutions were carried with only two dissen-
tients.

Still Sir William Harcourt made no sign. At last
Mr. Peter Taylor, the honored member for Leicester,,
publicly interrogated the Home Secretary in the

LOSS AND GAIN. 167

House of Commons. Mr. Taylor's question was as
follows :

" Mr. F. A. Tatlor asked the Secretary of State for the Home
Department whether he had received memorials from many
thousands of persons, including clergymen of the Church of
Cngland, Nonconformist ministers, and persons of high literary
and scientific position; asking for a mitigation of the sentences
of Greorge WilBam Foote and William James Ramsey, now im-
prisoned in HoIIoway Gaol on a charge of blasphemy ; whether
they have already suffered five months' imprisonment, involving
until lately confinement in their respective cells for twenty-three
hours out of every twenty-four, and now involving twenty-two
hours of such solitary confinement out of each 24 ; and whether
he will advise the remission of the remainder of their sentences.'

Thereupon Sir William Harcourt reared his unblush-
ing front and gave this answer :

" Sir William Habcourt — The question of my hon. friend is
founded upon misconception of the duties and rights of the
Secretary of State in reference to sentences of the law, which I
have often endeavoured to remove, but apparently with entire
want of success. It is perfectly true that I have received many
memorials on this subject, most of them founded on misconcep-
tion of the law on which the sentence rested. This is not a
matter I can take into consideration, either upon my own opinion
or upon that of * clergymen of the Church of England, Noncon-
formist ministers, and persons of high literary and scientific
position.' 1 am bound to assume that until Parliament alters
the law that law is right, and that those who administer the law
administer it rightly. If I took any other course, outside my
opinion — if I had one upon this subject — I should be interfering
with the making and with the administration of the law, and
transferring it from Parliament to the Executive and to a Minister
of the Crown. I am quite sure my hon. friend would not like
that course. It has been said, ** Oh, but you can deal with sen-
tences.'* (Hear, hear.) Sentences must be dealt with not upon
the assumption that the law was wrong, and that the jury and
judge were wrong, but upon special circumstances apphcable to
the particular case which would justify a Minister m recom-
mending to the Crown a remission of sentence. What are the
circumstances ? Nobody — ^I do not care whether legal persons
or belonging to the classes mentioned in this question — ^who has
not seen the publication can judge of the matter. I have seeu it,
and I have no hesitation in saying that it is in the most strict
sense of the word an obscene libeL It is a scandalous outrage
upon public decency. (Opposition cheers.) That being so, the
law has declared that it is punishable by law. I have no autho-

170 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

twenty-two hours instead of twenty-three. By finess*
ing I also managed to get an old feather pillow from
the store-room, which proved a comfortable addition
to the wooden bolster. The alteration in our food I
have already mentioned.

Sir William Harcourt did absolutely nothing for us,
bnt the Secretary of the Prison Commissioners gave
instructions that we were to be treated as kindly as
possible, so that ^' nothing might happen " to us. One
of the upper ofioers, whom I have seen since, told me
we were a source of great anxiety to the authorities,
and they were very glad to see our backs.

Mr. Anderson called on me in my cell and asked
what he could do for me.

" Open the front door," I answered.

With a pleasant smile he regretted his inability to do
that.

" Well then," I continued, " let me have something
to read."

"Yes," he said, "I can do that. There are many
books in the prison library."

" But not one," I retorted, " fit for an educated man
to read. They are all selected by the chaplain."

"Well," he answered, "I cannot give you what we
haven't got."

" But why not let me have my own books to read ?"
I asked.

Mr. Anderson replied that such a thing was unheard
of, but I persisted in my plea, which Colonel Milman
generously supported.

"Well," said Mr. Anderson, "I suppose we
must. Your own books may be sent in, and the
Governor can let you have them two at a time. But,
you know, you mustn^t have such writings as you are
here for."

" Oh," I replied, " you have the power to check that.
They will all pass through the Oovernor's hands, and
I will order in nothing but what Colonel Milman might
read himself."

" Oh," said Mr. Anderson, with a humorous smile,
which the Governor and the Inspector shared, " I can't
say what Colonel Milman might like to read."

A LONG NIGHT. 171

The interview ended and my books came. What a
joy they were! I read Gibbon and Mosheim right
throngh again, with Cariyle's "Frederick," "French
Revolution " and " Cromwell," Forster's " Statesmen of
the Commonwealth," and a mass of literature on the
Rebellion and the Protectorate. I dug deep into the
literature of Evolution. I read over again all Shake-
speare, Shelley, Spenser, Swift and Byron, besides a
number of more modem writers. French books were
not debarred, so I read Diderot, Voltaire, Paul Louis
Courier, and the whole of Flaubert, including " L'Edu-
cation Sentimentale," which I never attacked before,
but which I found, after conquering the apparent dul-
ness of the first half of the first volume, to be one of
the greatest of his triumphs. Mr. Gerald Massey, then
on a visit to England, was churlishly refused a visiting
order from the Home Office, but he sent me his two
magnificent volumes on " Natural Genesis," and a note
to the interim editor of the Freethinker, requesting
him to tell me that I had his sympathy. " I fight the
same battle as himself," said Mr. Massey, "although
with a somewhat different weapon." I was also
favored with a presentation copy of verses by the one
writer I most admire, whose genius I reverenced long
before the public and its critics discovered it. It
would gratify my vanity rather than my prudence to
reveal his name.

Agreeably to the proverb that if you give some men
an inch they will take an ell, I induced the Governor
to let me pursue my study of Italian. First he allowed
me a Grammar, tiien a Conversation Book, then a
Dictionary, then a Prose Reading Book, and then a
Poetical Anthology. These volumes, being an addition
to the two ordinary ones, gave my little domicile a
civilised s^pearance. Cleaners sometimes, when my
door was opened, looked in from the corridor with an
expression of awe. "Why," I heard one say, "he's
got a cell like a bookshop."

With my books, my Italian, and my Colenso,
I managed to kill the time ; and although the snake-
like days were still long, they were less veno-
mous. Yet the remainder of my sentence was a ter-

172 PBISONEB FOB BLASPHEMY.

rible ordeal. I never lost heart, but I lost strength.
My brain was miracnlonsly clear, but it grew weaker
as the body languished ; and before my release I
xsonld hardly read more than an hour or two a
<lay.

The only break in the monotony of my life was
when I received a visit. Mrs. Besant, Dr. Aveling^
Mr. Wheeler and my wife, saw me occasionally ; either
in the ordinary way, at the end of every three months^
-or by special order from the Home Of&ce. I saw my
visitors in the prison cages, only our faces being
visible to each other through a narrow slit. We
«tood about six feet apart, with a warder between ns
to stop '^ improper conversation." I could not shake
a friend's hand or kiss my wife. The interviews
lasted only half an hour. In the middle of a sentence
^' Time !" was shouted, the keys rattled, and the little
oasis had to be left for another journey over the desert
«and.

Every three months I wrote a letter on a prison sheet.
Two sides were printed on, and the others ruled wide,
with a notice that nothing was to be written between
the lines. No doubt the authorities were anxious to
«ave the prisoners ^e pain of too much mental exertion.
I foiled them by writing small, and abbreviating nearly
every word. My letters were of course read before
they were sent out, and the answers read before they
reached me. No respect being shown for the privacies
of affection, I addressed my letters to Dr. Aveling for
publication in the Freethinker.

One of these documents lies before me as I write.
It was the extra letter I sent to my wife before leaving,
and contains directions as to clothes and other domes-
tic matters. I venture to reproduce the advertise-
ment, which occupies the whole front page i

**A prisoner is permitted to write and receive a Letter after
three months of nis sentence have expired, provided his con-
-ductand industry have been satisfactory during that time, and
the same privilege will be continued afterwards on the same con-
ditions and at the same intervals.

**A11 Letters of an improper or idle tendency, either to or
n Frisoners, or containing slang or other objectionable ex^

A LONO NIOHT. 173^

preafdons, will be suppressed. The penniasion to write and
receive Letters is given to the Prisoners for the purpose of
enabling them to keep up a connexion with their respectable
friends, and not that they may hear the news of the day.

« All Letters are read by we Authorities of the Ftison, and
must be legibly written, and not crossed.

** Neither clothes, money, nor any other articles, are allowed
to be received by any Officers of the Prison for the use of
Prisoners ; all parcels containing such articles intended for
Prisoners on discharge must b^ outside the name of the
Prisoner, and be sent to the Governor, or they will not be re-
ceived. Persons attempting otherwise to introduce any article
to or for a prisoner, are liable to a fine or imprisonment, and the
Prisoner concerned may be severely punished.*'

The authorities are not so careful about the letter
being legible by its recipient. They do not insert it in
an envelope, but just fold it up and fasten it with a
little gum, so that the letter is nearly sure to be torn
in the opening. The address is written on the back by
the prisoner himself, before the sheet is folded. Lines
are provided for the purpose, and it is pretty easy to
Bee what the letter is. Surely a little more considera-
tion might be shown for a prisoner's friends. They
are not criminals, and as the prison authorities incur
the expense of postage, they might throw in a cheap
envelope without ruining the nation.

Mr. Kemp was released on May 25 in a state of ex-
haustion. It is doubtful if he could have survived
another three months' torture. What illness in the
frightful solitude of a prison cell is I know. I once
caught a bad cold, and for the first time in my life had
the toothache. It came on about two o'clock in the
afternoon, and as applications for the doctor are only
received before breakfast, I had to wait until the next
day before I could obtain relief. It arrived of itself
about one o'clock. The doctor had considerately left
my case till last, in order to give me proper atten-
tion.

Mr. Ramsey was released on November 24. He ws^^
welcomed at the prison gates by a crowd of sympa-
thisers, and entertained at a brei^ast in the Hall of
Science, where he made an interesting speech. By a
whimsical calculation, I reckoned that I had still to

174 PRISONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

swallow twenty-one gallons of prison tea and twelve
prison sermons.

Christmas Day was the only variation in the remain-
der of my "term." Being regarded as a Sabbath, it
was a day of idleness. The fibre was removed from
my oell, my apartment was clean and tidy, a bit of
dubbin gave an air of newness to my old shoes, and
after a good wash and an energetic use of my three^^
inch comb, I was ready for the festivities of the season.
After a sumptuous breakfast on dry bread, and sweet
water misnamed tea, I took a walk in the yard ; and on
returning to my cell I sat down and wondered how my
poor wife was spending the auspicious day. What a
*' merry Christmas " for a woman whose husband was
eating his heart out in gaol ! The chapel-bell roused
me from phantasy. While the other half of the prison
was engaged in " devotion," I did an hour's grinding
at Italian, and read a chapter of Qibbon ; after which
I heard the '' miserable sinners " return from the chapel
to their cells.

My Christmas dinner consisted of the usual diet, and
after eating it I went for another brief tramp in the
yard. The officers seemed to relax their usual rigor,
and many of the prisoners exchanged greetings. "How
did yer like the figgy duff ?" " Did the beef stick in
yer ribs?" Such were the flowers of conversation.
From the talk I overheard, I gathered that under the
old management, while HoUoway Gaol was the City
Prison, all the inmates had a " blow-out " on Christ-
mas Day, in the shape of beef, vegetables, plum-
pudding, and a pint of beer. Some of the old hands,
who remembered those happy days, bitterly bewailed
the decay of prison hospitality. Their lamentations
were worthy of a Conservative orator at a rural meet-
ing. The present was a poor thing compared with the
past, and they sighed for " the tender grace of a day
that is dead."

After exercise I went to chapel. Parson Plaford
preached a seasonable sermon, which would have been
more heartily relished on a full stomach. He told us
what a blessed time Christmas was, and that people
did well to be joyful on the anniversary of their

A LONG NI0HT. 175

Savior's birth. Before dismissing ns with his blessing
to onr " little rooms," which was his habitual euphe-
mism for our cells, he remarked that he could not wish
us a happy Christmas in our unhappy condition, but he
would wish us a peaceful Christmas ; and he ventured
to promise us that boon if, after leaving chapel, we fell
on our knees and besought pardon for our sins. Most
of the prisoners received this advice with a grin, for
their cell floors were black-leaded, and genuflexions in
their '' little rooms " gave them too much knee-cap to
their trousers.

At six o'clock I had my third instalment of Christ-
^las fare, the last mouthfuls being consumed to the
accompaniment of church bells. The neighboring
Bethels were announcing their evening performance,
and the sound penetrated into my cell. True believers
were wending their way to church, while the heretic,
who had dared to deride their creed and denounce their
hypocrisy, was regaling himself on dry bread in one
of their dungeons. The bells rang out against each
other with a wild glee as I paced my narrow floor.
They seemed mad with intoxication of victory ; they
mocked me with a bacchanalian frenzy of triumph.
Yet I smiled grimly, for their clamor was no more than
the ancient foor^-shout, <* Great is Diana of the Ephe-
sians." Great Christ has had his day since, but he in
turn is dead ; dead in man's intellect, dead in man's
heart, dead in man's life ; a mere phantom, flitting
about the aisles of chuirches, where priestly mummers
go through the rites of a phantom preed.

I took my prison Bible and read the story of Christ's
birth in Matthew and Luke, Mark and John having
never heard of it or forgotten it. What an incongruous
jumble of absurdities I A poor fairy tale of the weald's
childhood, utterly insignificant beside the stupendous
revelations of science. From the fanciful story of the
Magi following a star to Shelley's " World on worlds
are rolling ever,** what an advance ! As I retired to
sleep on my plank-bed my mind was full of these re-
flections, and when the gas was turned out, and I was
left in darkness and silence, I felt serene and almost
happy.

176 PRISOI^ER FOB BLASPHEMY.

CHAPTER XVII.

DAYLIGHT.

A NEW day dawned for me on the twenty-fifth of
Febmary. I rose as usual a few minutes before six.
It was the morning of my release, or in prison
language my " discharge." Yet I felt no excitement.
I was as calm as my cell walls. '^ Strange !" the reader
will say. Yet not so strange after all. ETery day had
been filled with expectancy, and anticipation had dis-
counted the reality.

Instead of waiting till eight o'clock, the usual
breakfast hour, superintendent Burchell brought my
last prison meal at seven. I wondered at his haste, but
when he came again, a few minutes later, to see if I
had done, I saw through the game. The authorities^
wished to "discharge" me rapidly, before the hour
when my friends would assemble at the prison gates^
and so lessen the force of the demonstration. I
slackened speed at once, drank my tea in sips, and
munched my dry bread with great deliberatioi;i.
" Come," said superintendent Burchell, " you're very
slow this morning." "Oh," I replied, "there's no-
hurry ; after twelve months of it a few minutes make
little difference." Burchell put the words and my
smile together, and gave the game up.

Down in the bathroom at the foot of the debtors'
wing my clothes were set out, and some kind hand had
spread a piece of bright carpet for my feet. I dressed
very leisurely. With equal tardiness I went through
the ceremony of receiving my effects, carefully check--
ing every article, and counting the money coin by
coin. The Governor tendered me half a sovereign, the
highest sum a prisoner can earn. "Thank you," I
said, " but I can't take their money." We had to go
through the farce.

In- the little gate-house I met Mr. Bradlaugh, Mrs.
Besant, and my wife. Colonel Milman wished us
good-bye, the gate opened, and a mighty shout broke

DAYLIGHT. 177

from the huge crowd outside. From all parts of
London they had wended in the early morning to
greet me, and there they stood in their thousands. Yet I
felt rather sad than elated. The world was so full of
wrong, though the hearts of those men and women
beat so true I

As our open carriage crawled throtlgh the dense
crowd I saw men's lips twitching and women shedding
tears. They crowded round us, eager for a shake of
the hand, a word, a look. At length we got free, and
drove towards the Hall of Science, followed by a pro-
cession of brakes and other vehicles over half a mile
long.

There was a public breakfast, at which hundreds
sat down. I took a cup of tea, but ate nothing. After
a long imprisonment I could not trust my stomachy
and I had to make a speech.

After Mr. Bradlaugh, Mrs. Besant and the Rev^ W.
Sharman (secretary of the Society for the Repeal of
the Blasphemy Laws), had made speeohes, which I
should blush to transcribe, I rose to respond. It was a
ticklish moment. But I found I had a voice stilly and
the words came readily enough. Concluding my ad-
dress I said : *^ I thank you for your greeting* I am
not played out. I am thinner. The doctor told me
I had lost two stone, and I believe it. But after all I
do not think the ship's timbers are much injured. The
rogues ran me aground, but they never made me haul
down the flag. Now I am floated again I mean to let
the old flag stream out on the wind as of yore. I mean*
to join the rest of our fleet in flghting the pirates and
slavers on the high seas of thought."

An hour afterwards my feet were on my own fender.
I was home again. What a delicious sensation after
twelve months in a prison cell I

Friends prescribed a rest at the seaside for me, but I
felt that the best tonic was work. In less than three
days I settled everything. I resumed the editorship of
the Freethinker at once, and began filling up my list
of engagements. On meeting the Committee, who had
managed our affairs in our absence, I found everything
in perfect order, besides a c^u^^rable profit at the

178 PRISONER rOR BLASPHEMY.

banker's. Messrs. A. Hilditch, R. 0. Smith, J. Grout
and G. Standring had given nngrndgingly of their
time ; Mr, C. Herbert, acting- as treasurer, had kept the
accounts with painstaking precision ; and Mrs. Besant
had proved how a woman could take the lead of men.
Nor must I forget Mr. Robert Forder, the Secretary of
the National Secular Society, who acted as shopman at
our publishing office, and sustained the business by
his assiduity. I had also to thank Dr. Aveling for
hi§ interim editorship of the Freethinker^ and the
admirable manner in which he had conducted Pro-
gress.

The first number of the Freethinker under my fresh
editorship appeared on the following Thursday. In
concluding my introductory address I said :

^ I promise the readers of the Freethinker that they shall, so
far as my powers avail, find no duninution in the vigor and
vivacity of its attacks on the shams and superstitions of onr age.
Not only the wiiter^s pen, but the artist's pencil, shaU be busy uk
this good work ; and the absurdities of faith shall, if possible,
be stain with laughter. Priests and fools are, as Groldsmith said,
the two classes who dread ridicule, and we are pledged to an
implacable war with both."

The artist's pencil ! Yes, I liad resolved to repeat
what I was punished for. I left written instructions
against the publication of Comic Bible Sketches in the
Freethinker during my imprisonment ; but although I
would not impose the risk on others, I was determined
to &ce it myself. A fortnight after my release the
Sketches were resumed, and they have been continued
ever since. My reasons for this decision were ex-
pressed at a public banquet in the Hall of Science on
March 12. I then said :

<* Mr. Bradlangh has said that the Freethought party — ^which
no one will dispute his right to speak for — looks to me, among
others, after my imprisonment, to maintain with dignity whatever
position I have won. I hope I shall not disappoint the emecta-
tlon. But I should like it to be clearly understood that I con-
sider the most dignified attitude for a man who has just left
gaol after suffering a cruel and unjust sentence, for no crime
except that of thinking and speaking freely, is to stand again
for the same right he exercised before, to pursue the very

DATUOHT. 179

policy for which he vas attacked, pteemdj beeanae he trot
attacked, and to flinch no hail's breadth from the line he par-
sued before, at least nnlil the oppootion reaorta to anaaian in-
stead of force, and tries to win bgr critieiaflft what it_ will nerer
win by tiie gaoL It is my intention to-monow motning to drive
to the West of London, and to leave the ftnt copy of tiua week'a
Freethinker palled from the preaa at Jwdgt North's honae with
my c(»npliments and my card."

I^olonged applause greeted this annonnoement^ and I
kept my word. Jndge North had the first copy of the
re-illnstiated Freethinker^ and I hope he velidied it.
At any rate, it showed him, as John Bright 8ay8» that
" force is no remedy."

At the banquet I refer to I was presented with a purse
of gold, in common with Mr. Bunaey, and an Siiimi-
nated Address, which lan as follows :

,'«To Geobos Wojjam Foots, ^ce-Pteatdent of the National
Secular Society, who suffered for twelye months in Holloway
Gaol for the aoHcaUed offence of Biasphen^.
<* In offering you on your release this illuminated address,, and
the accompanying purse of gold, we do not aeek to giye you
recompense for the sufferings and insults which haye been heaped
upon you. We bring them only as a qn^bol of our thanks to
you — ^thanks, because, on your trial, you spoke nobly for the
right of free speech on religious questions ; thanks, because you
bore, without a sign of flinching, a sentence at once cruel and
unjust; thanks, l^cause you huwe earned on in our days the
traditions of a Freethought faithful in the prison as on the plat-
form.

« Signed on behalf of the) C. Bradlaugb, President
National Secular Society > B. Forder, Secretary.'*

Greatly also did I value the greeting I received, with
my two fellow prisoners, from the working men of
East London. At a crowded meeting in the large hail
of the Haggerston Road Cluby attended by representa-
tives of other associations, I was presented with the
following address :

"The Political Council of the Borough of Hackney Work-
men's Club present this testimonial to George William Foote
as a 'token of admiration of the courage displayed by him in
the advocacy of free speech, and in sympathy for the sufferings
endured during twelve months^ imprisonment for the same under
barbarous laws unfitted for the spirit of a free people.

" Signed on behalf (Alfred Pike, President
of the Council |Cha& Kniqbt, Secretary."

180 PRTSONER FOR BLASPHEMY.

The largest audience that ever assembled at the Hall
of Science listened to my first lecttire, at which Mr.
Bradlaugh presided^ two days after my release. Seven-
teen hundred people crowded into a room that seats
nine hundred, and as many were unable to gain admis-
sion. Similar welcomes awaited me in the provinces ;
and ever since my audiences, as well as the sale of my
journal and writings, have been far larger than before
my imprisonment. Hundreds of people, as they have
told me, have been converted to Freethought by my
sufferings, my lectures, and my pamphlets. I hope
Judge North is satisfied.

To prevent a br&Bik^own in case of another prose-
cution, Mr. BaaooLsey and I clubbed our resources, and
purchased printing plant and machinery, so that the
production of the Freethinker and other ^^blas-
Xihemous'* literature might be done under our own
roof. The bigots had proved themselves unable to
intimidate us, and as we were no longer at the mercy
of printers they gave up the idea of molesting us.
May Freethinkers ever act in this spirit, and be true to
the great traditions of our cause I

F 1 N I B.

V

I ' ^ N4JIFT OF IRVING LEW

,^ [FOUNDED, S. PETERS DAY, 1877.]

REPORT OF COUNCIL

For the Year ending August "31 at, 1883,

Pbesented at the

ANNUAL MEETING OP MEMBEES,
SEPTEMBER 25th, 1883.

** §5 manifcBtati0n of iJsz Wtntlj cammtniins nrnr-
atlbtz ta eircr^ man'a am&ciznu in tJre atgljt of (Soft/'
II Cor. iv. 2.

Published for the Guild of S. Matthew by

FEEDK. VEEINDEE {Hon. Sec.)^

5, Ooldsmitli Sq., Stoke Newingftoa, London, N.

(Twopence: Post-free, Five Halfpenny Stamps.)

-r£/^

dnilir of ^. Jflattb^to.

OBJECTS.

7. — To get rid, by every possible means , of the existing
prejudices, especially on the part of " Secularists,'*
against the Church-— her Sacraments and Doctrines :
and to endeavour " to justify GOD to the people."

II. — To promote frequent and reverent worship in the
Holy Communion and a better observance of the
teaching of the Church of England as set forth in
the Book of Common Prayer,

III. — To promote the Study of Social and Political
Questions in the light of the Incarnation.

Warden, Eev. S. D. Headlam, B.A., 22, Hyde Park
Gate South, London, S.W.

Treasurer, Mr. G. C. E. Malim, 31, Southampton St.,
Strand, London, W.C.

Secretary, Mr. F. Verinder, 5, Goldsmith Sq., Stoke
Newington, London, N.

CouticihlSSSA.

Kev. C. E. Escbeet.
B. H. Haddkn.
T. Hancock.
T. Hill.

W. E. Moll. . .
H. C. Shuttleworth.

Mb. C. W. Cabteb.

„ J. F. Habbibs.

„ E. J. Petebs.

„ J. Shabp.

„ J. 0. Wheeleb.
Miss Pbingle.

Billet, Porms oi pollination, Progrannnes of Lectures, a list of
the Publications of the Guild, and all other information, will be
gladly supplied on application to the Hon. Sec.

SIXTH ANNUAL EEPOET.

iSept. 1st 1882.^Aug. 81st 1883.)

The sixth year of the Guild's existence has been marked
by changes of considerable importance. At the beginning
of the year a thorough revision of the Eules completed
the series of steps whereby our Guild, once a small
parochial body of communicants, has adapted its organi-
zation to a work which is rapidly becoming general rather
than local ; the end of the year has given indications of
a gre&t increase in the area to be covered by the work
during the coming Lecture Season — an increase which
threatens to tax the resources of the Guild to the utmost.
I'he chief features in the

Eevision of the Guild Eules

last September were the provisions made for the forma-
tion of Local Committees and Local Branches for the
extension of the work of the Guild wherever needed,
and for the government of the whole society by a central
Council nominated and elected by the whole body of
members. While there is good reason for believing that
the arrangements thus made will tend to encourage the
free development of the Guild as useful openings occur^
your Council has not attempted to hasten the formation
of any Local Branch before the central body should be in
working order under the new Rules. In the meantime
much useful work may be done by members who are
willing to act as Local Correspondents of the Guild in
ihek respective neighbourhoods, . spreading among their
fellow Churchmen a knowledge of the work of the Guild,.

collecting information for the use of the Council, and
gathering new members around them to form the nucleus
of a future Branch.* Should it seem desirable, the
Council will endeavour to send a deputation from its own
body to any part of London, or to any important centre
in the country where a meeting of Churchmen can be
collected to hear about the work upon which our society
is engaged. Pamphlets, Leaflets, etc., for judicious
distribution can be obtained from the secretary. Members
may often do good service by bringing the objects of the
G. S. M. under the notice of any meetings of Guilds,
Church Unions, Euridecanal Conferences, etc., at which
they may have right of speech.

The changes mentioned above, and many minor ones,
were sanctioned by a general meeting of members held
on Sept. 11th, 1882. In accordance with the newEules,
the

Annual Meeting

was held on Sept. 27th, being the Wednesday within the
Octave of S. Matthew's Day. The Eeport for the pre-
vious year, consisting of 32 pages of printed matter, and
containing detailed replies to the adverse criticisms on
the Guild's programme, then not so well understood as
now, was presented by the secretary and unanimously
adopted. The announcement of the election of the
Executive, and the annual address by the Warden, brought
the meeting to a close.

The Guild Festival

was observed on S. Matthew's Day in the usual manner.
There was a Celebration of the Holy Communion for the
London members at S. Michael's, Shoreditch, at 8 a.m. ;
with a Special Sermon by the Eev. Warden in the church
of S. Edmund- the-King, Lombard St. (by kind permission
of the Eev. W. Benham, B.D., Eector.)

*A list of the Local CorreBpondents of the Guild may be obtain^
from the secretary.

Special Services.

As in the previous year, an appeal was made by the
Guild to their fellow-Churchmen to unite in intercession
on S. Thomas' Day " for all who are engaged in work
among ' those that are without * ; and for all whom it is
sought to influence." This appeal was freely circulated
among probable sympathisers and met with a still more
hearty response than in the previous year. The chief
Services (held in London) were four, viz., Evensong on S.
Thomas* Eve (Dec 20) at S, Clement's, East Didwich, with
Sermon by Eev. C. E. Escreet, M.A. ; a " Late Evening
Service '* in the Crypt Chapel, S, Paul's Cathedral (Dec 20)
— Preacher, Eev. H. C. Shuttleworth, Minor Canon; Holy
Communion (Dec 21 — ^midday) at .S. Edmund's, Lombard
St. ; and at S. Thomas, Begent St., where the sermon was
preached by Eev. T. Hancock. The Holy Communion
was also celebrated on S. Thomas' Day *for the inten-
tion of the G. 8. M.' at 11 other churches in London, and
at churches in the following places : — Aldsworth, Arley,
Batty eford, Bournemouth, Bowerchalke, Bury *, Glou-
cester, Grasmere*, Harlow, Hull, Jarrow, Langton,
Little Braxted, Little Hulton, Masbrough, Menstone,
Newport (Mon.), Northampton, Nottingham*, Plymouth*,
Eugeley, Southampton, Ulgham, West Bromwich, West
Drayton, Wilsden, Wolverhampton, York.

Special Sermons were also preached in connection with
these services at the churches marked thus * : and the
offertories at many of the churches were given to the
Guild Funds. The appeal brought many letters of
sympathy from Clergy who were unable, from local
circumstances, to hold Services ; some, who would have
given offertories if possible, gave or promised donations ;
others joined the Guild as members. Another Service of
the same character as the above was held at S. Andrew's,
Stockwell, on the Eve of the Conversion of S. Paul (Jan,
24), when the Eev. Warden preached at a well-attended
Evensong.

Membership.

At the date of the last report the Guild numbered 77
members, of whom 32 were priests. During the year, 39
new members have been elected, 5 have resigned, 2 names
have been removed from the roll by the Council. There
has thus been a net increase of 32 members during the
year, bringing the number of members up to 109, of whom
43 are clergy.

Lectures and Discussions,

The great increase in this branch of our work an-
nounced last year has been well maintained.

(1) . The Shoreditch *' Lectures for the People " reached
their fifth year. From October 1882 till the end of Hhe year
they were delivered in the S. Michael's Boys' School,
Leonard Street, on Tuesdays ; and were afterwards con-
tinued in the *' Shakespeare Hall," Old Street, on Mondays
till Whitsuntide. The enforced change of Lecture Room
seems on the whole to have worked for good. On several
occasions the Hall was densely packed with audiences of
exactly the type desired. A full list of the subjects
treated will be found in the Appendix (C). It may be
interesting to notice that the subjects which attracted
the largest audiences were those numbered 7, 12, 13, 25,
27, 28.

Since the removal to Shakespea,re Hall the experiment
of a ** Penny Collection *' towards the expenses has been
tried with a fair amount of success.

(2). The Battersea Liberal Association, Club and
Institute, Laburnum House, Battersea High Street, has
amongst its members many who regularly attended the
Eev. C. E. Escreet's courses of Lectures at the ** Goat ''
Coffee Tavern, Battersea. By invitation of the Council
of the Association your Secretary has arranged courses
of Sunday Lectures extending with but httle interruption
from October to the end of May. An audience, excellent
both in number and tone, has assembled each Sunday to

* study and discuss the subjects brought before them by
! the Lecturers, the discussions being marked by uniform
courtesy and abihty. [See Appendix D].

p (3). At the request of the Walworth Freethov^ht

Institute a short course of Tuesday Lectures was arranged
by the G. S. M. last October. The programme for that
month is given entire in Appendix E, the Sunday Lectures
with which our own alternated giving a fair idea of the
variety of subjects included in the Secularist programme.
Several isolated lectures have been delivered by members

I of the Guild since the above course, the Lecturers invari-
ably receiving a cordial reception and patient hearing,
such as augurs well for the future of free discussion, even
on "burning questions."

Several other courses of Lectures, some of them very
closely connected with our own work, all of them inspired
by the same motives and aiming at the same objects^
^ must be noticed here.

{a) A valuable course of ''Lent Conferences on The Church
and the Age '* was arranged last spring by the Brotherhood
of S. Peter, Westminster — a branch of the Guild of S.
Alban — of which Br. Malim* was at that time Secretary.

The announcements ran as follows : — ''The Brotherhood
^ specially invites church workers, the object being to con-
sider some aspects of modern Society, and how the Church
may better fulfil the obligations which the times lay upon
her. There will be free discussion and it is hoped that
various schools of thought may be represented." The
subjects announced were the following : — "The Church
and Modem Society," by Eev. H. C. Shuttleworth ;
'■ *' The Church and Freethought," by Rev. S. D. Headlam ;
*' The Church and the People," by Rev. T. Hancock ;
"The Eights and Duties of the Laity," by Br. G.
C. E. Malim ; " The Church and the Guild Life," by
Br. A. W. Crickmay.

It will be noticed that all the Lecturers were members

of the G.S.M.

^

* He has since been elected ** Master " of the Brotherhood*

8

S) The courses of Addresses to Men on " Difficulties of
ef " noticed in the last report as having been organ-
ized by the Rev. N. T. Hughes, M.A., in the Parish of
S. Edmund's, Northampton, have been successfully
continued during the past year : and

(c) Sunday Afternoon Addresses on precisely the same
lines have been delivered during Advent and Eastertide
at S. Paul's, Deptford.

On each Sunday Evening at 8.15 in the Hall attached to
the Star Coffee Tavern, High St., the Lecturer repeated
the substance of that afternoon's address, and answered
questions and objections with regard to it. At North-
ampton the same plan was adopted, the discussions being
held in the School-room. "Earnest men of all opinions "
were invited.

{d) A short course of extreme interest and importance
was delivered in the Temperance Hall, Bristol, to audi-
ences chiefly consisting of artisans, at the request of a
committee of the Ruridecanal Conference. These lectures
have supplied the Guild with a most valuable addition to
its list of useful books, two lectures by the Rev. J. M.
Wilson having been since published by the S.P.C.K.
with a preface. * The Bishop of the Diocese was in the
chair at the first Lecture, and the Chairman of the
Trades' Council at the second.

{e) A long series of Sunday Aftemoont Addresses on
** Science and Beligion,'* in which some members of the
G.S.M. have been able to take part, has been delivered
under the management of the Rev. C. E. T. Roberts,
Chaplain to the Bishop of Bedford, in S. Peter's School^
Hackney Road. This church is historically interesting
as that in which Mr. C. Bradlaugh, M.P., was at one time
an earnest Sunday School Teacher, and where he received
his first impetus towards unbelief from the unhappy way

• '• The Theory of Inspiration ; or Why Men do not belidva
the Bible," by Rev. J. M. Wilson, M.A., F.R.A.S., F.G.S., Head-
master of Clifton College ajid Chaplain to the Lord Bishop of
Exeter. The two lectures (59 pp.) sent post-free by the Hon. Sec.
G.S.M. for fourpence.
t To be continued during the coming season on Sunday Evenings.

in which the Incumbent thought fit to deal with the lad's
doubts as to whether the Thirty-nine Articles could be
made to harmonise with the four Gospels. Although Mr.
Roberts* course of Lectures dealt with but a small part of
the Secularist controversy, there is Reason to believe that
they have been useful in a neighbourhood where Secularism
is strongly represented. Discussion has been invited
after each Lectiure.

(/) The Eev. H. C. Shuttleworth's courses of Bible
Lectures for men and for women in the Chapter House, S.
Paul's, have been continued with increasing success and
usefulness during the past year.

The G. S. M. " Lecture List."

An important step has been taken during the past
August "by the issue of a ** Lecture List " containing about
twenty Lectmrers and nearly one hundred subjects.*
"No charge is made for the delivery of any of these
Lectures (singly or in courses) at any Club or similar
Institution in any easily accessible part of London.
Ample opportunity for questions and discussion must be
allowed after each lecture." It is hardly necessary to
point out that by visiting the Clubs and Lecture Halls of
other societies, the Guild's Lecturers will reach audiences
which can be reached in no other way. Although the
list was at first intended for London Clubs only, it was
deemed desirable, almost at the last moment, to make
some slight provision for country work : and, as a small
beginning of a country list, the following gentlemen have
volunteered to lecture in their own neighbourhoods, and
occasionally in London : — Revs. H. E. B. Arnold; G.
Sarson (Orlestone, Kent) ; C. E. Steward (Southampton);
C. W. Stubbs (Granborough, Bucks) ; Prof. Symes (Not-
tingham). Several of the London Lecturers are wilhng
to lecture in the country on payment of travelling
expenses.

* Lecturers and subjects are to a great extent the same as those
given in the Appendix to the present and previous reports ; but with
one exception the list is limited to members of the G.S.M.

10

Applications for lectures have been received with
unlooked-for promptness. The Battersea Branch of the
National Secular Society has invited us to its platform ;
a long course of Lectures is to be delivered at the request
of the Leicester Secular Society in their Hall; and
similar courses are being arranged for Battersea Liberal
Association and several other Clubs. The Council has
also rented the Ball's Pond Secular Hall, an important
post in the north of London, for a course of six lectures
(Nov. 8 — Dec. 13 inclusive). Another course, to com-
mence early in October, will be given on Tuesdays,.
at S. John's Hall, Cambridge Street, Great Marlborough
Street, W.

Members of the G.S.M., and sympathisers with its
work, may at all times render valuable aid by sending to
the secretary for the use of the Council (a) Authentic
information as to the work carried on by the various
Local Secular and Badical Clubs and similar organizations.
Secularist Lectures, Libraries, Secular Sunday Schools,
Classes, etc., in connection with them (b) Newspaper or
other Beports of Lectures, or copies of Tracts or Pamphlets,
containing arguments on either side, (c) Names and
Addresses of Churchmen likely to be interested in the
objects of the Guild, and to take a part in any work
carried on by it in their own neighbourhoods.

The Northampton Question and the
Blasphemy Sentences.

While studiously holding itself aloof from mere questions
of party politics, the Guild has from the beginning re-
cognised the important part which the real or supposed
attitude of the Church towards the great questions of
poUtical and social morality has played in the inception
and development of the great Secularist revolt from the
Church. No attempt on the part of Churchmen to deal
with English Secularism can be successful if it stops short
at the removed of the scientific, moral or textual difficul-
ties which surround the study of the Biblical records, and

11

ignores the bearing of Christianity upon the individual,
social, and national life. On two great questions, closely
related to our own work, your Council has felt bound to
speak out. The following petitions were drawn up, signed
by the whole Council, and presented on their behalf to
the House of Commons by Mr. G. W. E. Russell, M.P.
for Aylesbury : —

To THE Honorable the Commons of Great Britain
AND Ireland in Parliament assembled.

The humble petition of the Council of the Guild of S.
Matthew Sheweth —

That your petitioners believe that the continued ex-
clusion of the Borough of Northampton from its lawful
share of representation in your Honorable House on
account of the opinions on rehgious subjects attributed
to one of its duty-elected representatives is not only un-
just to the said Borough and foreign to the spirit and
intention of the English Constitution, but is moreover in
the highest degree prejudicial to the true interests of the
Christian Church, by associating the defence of the
Christian Faith with an act of Political Injustice, and by
representing the Oath of Allegiance as a Religious Test.

Your Petitioners therefore pray that your Honor-
able House, with a view to prevent the repetition in the
future of so great a scandal to Religion, and to remove a
stumbling-block from the way of those who are labouring
to reconcile the Working Classes to the Faith and the
Church, will forthwith pass into law the Bill now before
your Honorable House enacting that every Member
of either House of Parliament may if he thinks fit, make
and subscribe a solemn Affirmation of Allegiance.

And your petitioners will ever pray.

(II.)

The humble petition, etc., Sheweth

That your petitioners view with great anxiety the
recent revival of prosecutions under the Blasphemy Laws:

12

That they believe that penal enactments against Blas-
phemy are not only violations of the Law of Christ, con-
trary to the spirit of His Keligion, and unnecessary to its
defence, but also a chief obstacle to its acceptance :

That the working of the said Blasphemy Laws, as
shewn in recent cases of prosecution thereunder, is likely
to bring about a grave miscarriage of justice, seeing that
writers who have not the advantage of superior education
and high social position are liable to imprisonment for
pubUshing m a cheap form opinions which are circulated
widely and with impunity by cultured writers in expen-
sive books :

That the sentences of imprisonment recently passed
under the said Laws, upon the Editor, Proprietor, and
PubUsher of the "Freethinker ' ' are regarded by thousands
of loyal subjects who have no sympathy with the views
expressed in that paper, as unduly severe :

YouB PETITIONEES THEREFORE PRAY your Houorable
House to repeal all penal enactments * against Heresy and
Blasphemy, and thus place all Her Majesty's subjects, of
whatever religious opinions, in a position of equality be-
fore the Law.

And your petitioners will ever pray.

At the same time a memorial was forwarded to the
Home Secretary praying for the release of the three
prisoners, on grounds similar to those urged in the second
petition quoted above.

Owing to the repeated requests of several who sym-
pathised with the prayer of the above petitions they were
printed for more general circulation. Although the time

♦ The mere repeal of the Act, 9 & 10 Wm. III., c. 32, which ^ves
the statutoiy definition of blasphemy, would not have the desired
efEect, as no prosecution has ever taken place under that Act. Any
repealing Act to be effective for its purpose must contain a clause
annulling the cormnon law on the subject. There is reason to hope
that a Bill to this efEect may be introduced Into the House 'of
Commons next session.

13

available for this purpose was short, and but little money
and time could be spared from the Lecture work of the
Guild then in full course, the results were most encou-
raging. Could the work have been undertaken in good
time by a more powerful society with sufficient funds, we
might have been spared the humiliating spectacle of 13,000
English clergy petitioning in a state of panic against the
freedom of election which their predecessors so gloriously
helped the people to secure.

About a thousand signatures, hurriedly collected for the
first petition by members of the Guild and other Church-
men, were returned in a very short time to the secretary :
but, owing to the daily expectation of a division on the
Affirmation Bill, the sheets were in many cases sent direct
to the House of Commons by those who had them in
charge — twenty sheets in one place, six in another, and so
on. No complete return of signatures reached the Coun-
cil but there is reason to believe that their number reached •
several thousands. Many names of clergymen appeared
on the sheets.

Many sheets of closely written signatures have been
received for the second petition, which are, however, for
reasons . deemed sufficient, being held over till certain
definite action is taken for the repeal of the Blasphemy
Laws.

Thanks chiefly to the long series of most valuable letters
on the subject which appeared in the Guardian and
elsewhere from the pen of Eev. Malcolm MacCoU, the
real question at issue in the case of the Affirmation Bill
is better understood now than a few months ago, and
there is less anxiety to maintain as the ** last bulwark of
Christianity *' in our legislature, a form of words which
was carefully emptied of all Christian meaning in order
to admit Jewish members a quarter of a century ago.

The cry of danger to the Church and Constitution —
employed as vigorously in the present as in former
struggles for the removal of civil disabihties — will work
less mischief when Churchmen more fully realize the
fact that the danger really threatening the Constitution

14

proceeds from those who, assumiDg to themselves the
defence of the Faith, on pretence of religions zeal tamper
with the right of representation for the purpose of ex-
cluding an unpopular representative. That a sericnis
danger threatens the Church in this matter can hard^
be disputed : but it arises from the craven fear of some
of her sons, who shrink from doing justice lest some
imagined mischief may result from it. Let us *' be just
and fear not." ' *^

Such httle adverse criticism as reached the secretary,
amid the all but unanimous approval of a very laxge
number of correspondents, was directed against the
second petition. It is possible that the question of the
Blasphemy Laws may be dealt with in a separate pub-
lication later on. But in the meantime some prevailing
misconceptions may be noticed here. The Council has
not aimed by its action at " legalising * outrage * " or
, ** indecency." Neither outrage nor indecency has any-
thing to do with the late sentences or with the Blas-
phemy Laws in general. The indictment was for blas-
phemous libel and gave no hint of indecency : Mr. Justice
North on the first trial reminded the jury of this fact ;
the Lord Chief Justice on the last trial said of Mr.
Foote — " He maybe blasphemous, but he certainly is ndt
licentious in the ordinary sense of the word ; and you d6
not find him pandering to the bad passions of mankind.''
The editor and his two co-defendants were imprisoned for
'* blasphemy " and not for indecency. There should
surely be some straight-forward way of punishing the
writer of an indecent article without imprisoning him on
a wholly different charge. Again, the ** outrageous'*
expression of '* extreme " views has little or nothing to
do with the legal definition of " blasphemy." Under the
existing law the maximum punishment could be awarded
for the most private and temperate expression of the
" mildest heresy." According to the statutory definition
of "blasphemy," " if any person having been educate4 in,
or at any time made profession of, the Christian religion
within this realm shall by writing, printing, teaching, or
advised speaking deny any one of the persons of the Ho|y

15

Trinity to be God, or shall assert or maintain that there
are -.more Gods than one, or shall deny the Christian
retigion to be true, or the Holy Scriptures to be of Divine
authority," he shall for a first offence be *' judged in-
capable and disabled in law to have or enjoy any office
or_ offices, employment or employments, ecclesiastical,
clvij, or military ; " for a second offence, he shall be de-
prived of all his civil rights for ever within this realm and
sballl suffer three years imprisonment. Before the passing
of this Act (9 and 10 Wm. III., c. 32) blasphemy was
punishable at common law by fine and imprisonment ;
aiid it has been held that the effect of the Act was *' not
to repeal the common law but to introduce certain peculiar
disabilities as cumulative upon penalties previously
infliicted. by the common law." (Carlile's case, 1819)
Sir -James Fitz- James Stephen in his recently published
"History of the Criminal Law" clearly shows the
dangerous character of these weapons for the suppression
of honest opinion. He says (vol. ii. p 475) —

" To say that the crime lies in the manner and not iii the matter
a|)^ear8 to me to he an attempt to evade and explain away a law
wjuch has no douht cesbsed to be in harmony with the temper
of the times ♦ ♦ * If the cases to which I have referred are
good law, every one of these works [e.g., Strauss' Leben Jesu^
B^nan's Vie de Jesus^ Auguste Gomte's Works] is a blasphemous
libel, ajid every bookseller who sells a copy of any one of them,
eyory master of a lending library who lets out one to hire,
nay, every owner of any such book who lends it to a friend, is
guilty of publishing a blasphemous libel, and is liable to fine and
impnsonment."

Again, writing of the decision in Cowan v, Milboume,
a case tried in 1867, he observes (vol. ii. p. 474) : —

** This last decision is strong to show that the true legal doctrine
uppn the subject is that blasphemy consists in the character of the
matter published and not in the manner in which it is stated. The
propositions intended to be expressed in the placards which were
thus, held to be blasphemous could hardly have been expressed in
less offensive language."

These quotations could be multiplied almost indefinitely
and Sir J. F. Stephen's statements are amply borne out

IG

by a study of the reported cases on this subject ♦ The
revival of these ahnost forgotten laws, after they had lain
dormant for a quarter of a century, has been attended
with circumstances of peculiar aggravation which entitle
the victims to that measure of mercy which not your
Council merely, but other Clergy and many of the leading
men of Science and Literature, have asked for them.
The evident political motive which prompted the trial, the
attempt to implicate the junior Member for Northampton
in the prosecution of a paper with which he was totally
unconnected, and so obtain his exclusion from the House
by obtaining two convictions under the statute of
William III. ; the partisan conduct of the Judge through-
out the first two trials — admitted even by many who
sympathised with the prosecution f ; the startHng severity
of the sentence ; the base tactics of the prosecution which
called forth scathing rebuke from the Lord Chief Justice
himself: should excite in the heart of every English
Churchman a feeling of shame that such things as these
should be done in the name and on the behalf of the
Beligion of Christ. But a still greater question underUes
the painful incidents of the recent trials. It is now
known that the English law — as it stands — pursues and
punishes the expression — even the most private and
temperate expression — of heretical views in a spirit and
with a barbarity which has hitherto been associated in
the minds of Englishmen rather with the Inquisition
than with English Courts of Justice.

Is it the wish of English Churchmen that their Church
should be supported by such laws as these ? How long
will the ** Establishment " be allowed to exist when
fair-play-loving English citizens realize, in the words of
an English judge, quoted with approval in an author-
itative legal text-book, that

*' a person may without being liable to prosecution for it, attack
Jiidaism^ or any religious sect (save the established religion of the

* The brilliant summing up of the Lord Chief Justice in the last
trial, and Mr. Justice Coleridge's view of the law as stated in
Pooley's case (1857) are probably the only exceptions.

t See e.g,. Pall Mall Gazette, March 6th, 1883.

17

country) and the only ( ! ) reason why the latter is in a different
position from the others is, because it is the form established by
law,** (Folkard's Starkie on Libel, p. *

The Council of the Guild venture to urge upon their
fellow-Churchmen the importance of a study of these
facts. No possible headway can be made against the
*' advancing tide of Atheism " of which so much is said,
while the unbeliever is treated with such cruelty and
injustice in the name of the Church. There is no chance
of Christianity receiving fair discussion and consideration
at the hands of a man who knows that fine and imprison-
ment may be the answer to the most respectful and
thoughtful expression of his honest objections. On the
other hand, an enormous impetus has been given to the
Secularist cause by the persecutions of the last three
years. Expediency, no less than Religion, demands that
in this matter we " stand aloof from injustice." ♦

FINANCE.— I. General Fund.

The Balance Sheet of the General Fund is given in
Appendix (A). There has been, in response to an appeal
from the Council, a most satisfactory increase in the
income from members' subscriptions, the subscriptions
having nearly doubled while the number of members
has increased by 40 per cent. A considerable sum, how-
ever, is still outstanding ; the prompt payment of which
would materially contribute towards the extinction of the
debt, which the Council, although carefully avoiding

* A ** National Association for the Repeal of the Blasphemy Laws "
has recently been founded by the Rev. W. Sharman, a Unitarian
Minister of Plymouth, who has given up his pulpit in order to
devote himself to the cause of repeal. The Warden and Secretary
of the G. S. M. are members of the Executive. A minimnm sub-
scription of One Shilling constitutes Life-Membership. Names and
subscriptions will be gladly received by Mr. F. Verinder, 5,
Goldsmith Square, Stoke Newington, London, N; who will also
be glad to learn the opinions of those Interested in this subject as
to the desirability of forming a Churchmen's Auxiliary to the
National Association, for the special purpose of inducing
Churchmen to agitate for the repeal of these laws.

B

ujmecfissary expenditure, has . not been able seriously to
reduce. Unless, by a spencial effort, this debt can be
speedily extinguished, a disastrous check will be given
tp the work of the Guild. The Council, therefore, asks
the help of every member in -bringing the claims of the
Quild before their fellow-Churchmen with a view to
obtaining as many new members as possible, and increased
pecuniary assistance.

H. Pamphlet Fund.

Among the methods by which the *' Objects ** of the
Guild are sought to be obtained, special prominence is
given to " the dissemination of suitable literature." In
September, 1882, a special Fund, to be used in the dis-
cretion of the secretary for this purpose, was set on foot»
the accounts of which are given in the Appendix. The
secretary reports that the amount derived from the sale
of pamphlets has risen to £12 4s. 2d., as against £5 Os. 4d.
in the preceding year. A very large number of pamphleta
aud. tracts has been distributed in suitable quarters, and
several more or less complete sets of the publications on
t|ie. Guild's hst have been presented to libraries of Clubs,
Secular Halls, .&c.. Gifts of books, in addition to the
donations acknowledged in the Balance Sheet (B) have
b^en gratefully received froin the Eevs. J.M. Wilson, M. A. >
and G. Sarson, M.A. A grant from the General Fund
of eighteen hundred copies of. last year's report has been
used principally for free distribution. A large number of
papers has been sold at reduced rates at the book-stall in
the Lecture Hall.

Towards the end of the year, the Kev. T. Hancock, At
the request of the Council, wrote a short tract on
*' Blasphemy,'! * which was printed for the Guild ; and
this has been followed by the publication of two important

* ** Blasphemy : a Short Appeal to Clergy and People.'* (Price ^d. ;
8d. per doz. ; 2s. per 100, post free.

19

lectures, * delivered from the Guild platform, which it is
hoped will be the beginning of a series of similar
publications.

In addition to the pamphlets intended for re-sale or
distribution, about £2 14s. Od. has been expended in the
purchase of Secularist periodicals and tracts, and in
binding them for reference. These items will in futute
be transferred to the Library Fund. + It is to be ob-
served that the necessity of preparing for the ' next
Lecture season has suddenly at the end of the year
converted a satisfactory balance-in-hand into a tem-
porary deficit which, however, is more than covered by
the value of the stock in hand.

III. Library Fund.

The success which has attended the formation of a
separate Pamphlet Fund has induced the Council to
authorise a special fund for the maintenance and exten-
sion of the Library. The usefulness of the Library is
much impaired by the want of permanent head-quarters
for the Guild. Several donations of valuable books have
been received during the year, and the Council have re-
quested the secretary to undertake the re-arrangement of
the Library. It is hoped that new rules may be framed
in such a way as to make the Library of real use to the
country members as well as to their brethren in London,
and suggestions on this subject are earnestly asked for.

• " Christ and Liberty," and " Christ and Freethought." Two
addresses to Secularists, by Rev. C. W. Stubbs, M.A., Vicar of
Granborough, Author of "Village Politics," "The Church and
Democracy,*' " The Mythe of Life,'* Ac.

t (1.) All Members' subscriptions and donations not specially
marked, will go to the Oeneral Fund for the maintenance of the
lectures and the office work of the Guild, &c. (2.) The Pamphlet
Fund, deriving its income from tiie sale of books, and from
special donations of books and money, will be charged with the
printing of all reports, leaflets, &c., pubUshed by the Guild, and
with the purchase of suitable literature for sale and distribution.
(3.) For the Library Fund, see above.

20

•

It is proposed to form, in addition to the general Library,
a Special Beference Library of Secularist Periodicals,
Tracts, dc. ; contributions to which, however small, will
be always welcome. Such a collection will be of great
advantage to the Guild's lecturers in dealing with *' the
existing prejudices — especially on the part of * Secularists,*
against the Church, Her Sacraments and Doctrines '* —
prejudices, which it is the chief object of the Guild ta
remove.

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22

OFFEBTOEIES AND DONATIONS.

• I i $ i I >

Opfertobies :

£ s. d.
S. Matthew's Day :

S. Edmund, Lombard

Street 18

Holy Trinity, Ilkeston 4 8

S. Thomas' Day :

S. Paul's Cathedral...

1

2 10

S. John, Wolverhmptn

1

5

S. Oswald, Grasmere...

12

3

S. Stephen, Bourne-

mouth

7

6

S. Clement, East Dul-

wich

15

S. Edmund, Lombard

Street

1

4

7

S. Mary, Sculcoates,

Hull

2

6

S. Mary, Balham ...

6

Battyeford

4

7

Jarrow-on-Tyne

5

6

S. Thomas, Bury

2

S. Paul, Deptford ...

3

9

S. Augustine, Rugeley

5

S. Philip, Clerkenwell

5

Conversion of 8, Paul.

S. Andrew, Stockwell...

1

9

£8 8 7

Donations :

1882. £ s. d.
Oct. A Lady, per Rev.

B. H. Hadden 2

„ — Orespin, Esq... 5

Nov. Rev.N.G.Wilkins 10

„ „ E. H. Birley 1

„ „ Canon Clarke 2

„ W. J. Kidd, Esq. 4

„ *'R. T. D." ... 10
„ Rev. C. H. Moli-

neux 2 6

Dec. Rev. Canon Wood 5
„ J. M. Wilson 110
„W.C.Emmett 2 6
„ J. J. Pilley, Esq. 6
„ Rev. J. Words-
worth 5

„ "H. M. E." ... 1
1883.

Jan. "W." 10

„ Mrs. Rothwell ... 5

„ Rev. A. D. Taylor 110

„ „ A. Greaves 1 10

„ Miss M. R. Lacey 5
Apr. Rev. W. Osbom

Allen 5

„ Miss Hsurington 10

„ Rev.W.H. Hanson 3

May Miss R. Bennett 2 6

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24
APPENDIX C.

Lectures at SHOREDITCH, October, 1882— May, 1883.

(1) ** The attitude of the Guild towards Social and

Political Questions," by Mr. F. Verinder, ffcrn. Sec.
G.S.M.

(2) '* * The Gospel of the Kingdom/ " by Mr. F. Verinder.

(3) " Whose is the Bible? " by Kev. J. G. Holt, M.A.

(4) '* * Natural Eeligion,'" by Kev. S. D. Headlam, B.A.,

Warden, G.S.M.

(5) '* The Social and Pohtical Bearing of the Theological

Virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity)," by Mr.
G. C. E. Malun, G.S.A.

(6) "'Our Vile Body,'" by Kev. T. Hill, M.A., of

S. Paul's, Deptford.

(7) *'The Character of Jesus Christ," by Rev. H. C.

Shuttleworth, M.A., Minor Canon of S. Paul's.

(8) "The Crescent and the Cross in Alexandria," by

Kev. W. E. Moll, M.A., of S. Thomas', Regent
Street.

(9) " The Church of England a Democracy," by Mr. T.

Layman.

(10) " The Christian Commonwealth," by Mr. H. W. Hill.

(11) "Church Patronage — A Question for the People,"

by Kev. T. Hancock, of Harrow.

(12) " Malthusianism," by Kev. Prof. Symes, M.A.,

University College, Nottingham.

25

(13) " A Christian View of the ' Bradlaugh Case,' " by

Bev. S. D. Headlam, B.A.

(14) " A few Favourite Poems," by Bev. S. D. Headlam,

B.A.

(15) " Worship a Necessity," by Mr. G. C. E. Malim.

(16) " Fraternity— Its Vision and Fulfihnent," by Miss

Hart.

(17) " The Anger of Jesus Christ," by Mr. F. Verinder.

(18) "Prof. Seeley's 'Natural Beligion,'" by Rev.

G. Sarson, M.A., Rector of Orlestone.

(19) " Church Reform," by Rev. S. D. Headlam, B.A.

(20) " Eternal Life," by Mr. F. Verinder.

(21) " The Bible and Inspiration," by Mr. C. G. Harrison.

(22) "The Constitutional Position of the Church of

England," by Mr. E. Layman, B.A.

(23) " The Incarnation," by Rev. C. E. Escreet, M.A.

Vicar of S. Andrew's, Stockwell.

(24) " The MascuUne and Feminine Elements in the

Christian Religion," by Rev. T. Hill, M.A.

(25) " Blasphemy," by Rev. T. Hancock, of Harrow.

(26) "The Secular Value of the Human Soul," by

Mr. T. Layman.

(27) " Christ and Freethought,"* by Rev. C. W. Stubbs,

M.A., Vicar of Granborough.

(28) "Fear God, honour the King," by Rev. H. C.

Shuttleworth, M.A.

• See Appendix (F).

26
APPENDIX D.

SUNDAY EVENING LECTURES

At Battersea Liberal Association. .

1882.

(2) Oct. 22.—** Heaven and HeU " (Eev. H. C. Shuttle-

worth, M.A.)

(3) „ 29.— ''The Church and Trades Unionism"

(Eev. T. Hill, M.A.)

(4) Nov. 5.—'* No Popery " (Rev. W. E. Moll, M.A.)

(5) „ 12.—'* Stamping out " (Mr. G. C. E. Malim).

(6) „ 19.—" Israel in Egypt " (Rev. T. Hancock) .

(8) Dec. 3.— "The Church and Fraternity" (Mr.

A. W. Crickmay).

(9) „ 10.—" Has Man a Soul?" (Rev. H. C. Shuttle-

worth, M.A.)
1883.
(13) Feb. 4. — ' ' Some reasons why I am not a Secularist "
(Rev. H. C. Shuttleworth, M.A.)

(17) Mar. 4.— "Liberty" (Mr. F. Verinder).

(18) „ 11.—" EquaUty " (Mr. F. Verinder).

(20) ,, 25. — ^"The Resurrection of Jesus Christ — ^Its

Value to Humanity"(Rev. T. Hill, M.A.)

(21) May 6. — " A Churchman's View of the AfSrmation

Bill"(Mr.F. Verinder).

(22) „ 13.— " Christian Socialism" (Mr.^H. H.

Champion.)

27

(23) „ 20.—" Christianity and Politics '' (Eev. T.

Hill, M.A.)

(24) „ 27. — " A Churchman's View of the Blasphemy

Prosecutions" (Mr. F. Verinder).

[From the above list are omitted all lectures which are
mentioned in Appendix (C) cls having been delivered also
at Shoreditch,]

API>ENDIX E.

SHORT COURSE of Lectures at WALWORTH

FREETHOUGHT INSTITUTE, Tuesdays in October,

1882.

[ Th^ Lectures for the month are given as they were announced
by the Institute, The Guild promded the Tuesday Lectures
anfy,']

Sunday, Oct. 1st, Mr. J. Dale, **The History of the
D&oiV

Tuesday, Oct. 3rd, Rev. S. D. Headlam, B.A., " Christian
Secularism."

Sunday, Oct. 8th, Mr. Ferozeshah, " The Conflict between
Beligion and Science " (2nd lecture) .

Tuesday, Oct. 10th, Mr. G. C. E. Malim, ''Faith and
Freethought."

Sunday, Oct. 15th, Mr. Robert Forder {Sec, National Secu-
lar Soc,)^ ''Paganism and Christ-
ianity Compared**

28

Tuesday, Oct. 17th, Eev. H. C. Shuttleworth, M.A., ** The

Paarsons and the People."
Sunday, Oct. 22nd, Mr. Thurlow, " What shall I Do to

Be Saved r'
Tuesday, Oct. 24th, Mr. Thomas Layman, "The Manliness

of Jesus Christ."
Sunday, Oct. 29th, Mr. E. E. Pearce, M.L., ''India

and Egypt.**
Tuesday, Oct. 31st, Eev. C. E. Escreet, M.A., "Four

Eadical Prophets."

" These lectures are delivered on Sunday evenings, and also on
some one evening in the week. At the conclusion of the lecture
questions are asked — often of a character which would tax even
the readiness of an Irish barrister — opponents are then allowed
speeches of ten minutes each, and the lecturer finally replies.
The subjects of the lectures appear to be by no means chiefly
evidential or apologetic. They range over a wide field, from
Buddhism to Emigration, and from the poor of London to the
Theology of Tennyson. In this eclecticism we think the Guild is
wise. It is well that Secularists should be brought to see that the
Church touches human life at many points, and that ' Secular '
matters come within her ken. It is well, too, that Churchmen
themselves should realize the pregnant fact, brought into clear
relief in this Beport, that the raril[s of aggressive Atheism are
constantly increased by men who begin by doubting or misunder-
standing the attitude of the Church towards social and political
questions." — From a leading article on the last Beport of the G.S.M.,
in Church Bells, Nov. 25, 1882.

29

[Michaelmas, 1883.}

APPENDIX F.
PUBLICATIONS.

The following Publications may be obtained of • the
Secretary, or at the Bookstall in the Lecture Hall ot^the
Guild. Many of them can be supplied at a reduction in
quantities for distribution.

Just Published. S2 pp. Twopence.

REPORT OF COUNCIL

Of the G. S. M. for the Year ending Aug. 31st, 1883,

with a paragraph on the Northampton Question and the

Blasphemy Laws.

Uniform witli thie above:—

^^iieport of the "Work of the G. S. M.,
^ 1881-2." (32 pp.) Second Thousand. 2d. (Post-

free, 2^.)

'* Objects and Eules of the Gr. S. M." maybe
\ obtained by intending members on application to

the Hon. Sec.

" The Guild deserves credit, in our judgment, for boldness and

originality of plan. It attempts to discover and deal with the

causes of Secularism, whereas evidential lecturers usually concern

themselves mainly with its symptoms. The one is the method of

the scientific physician, the otner that of the empiric. Whether

daring will be justified in this case by success remains to be seen ;

but it is remarkable that the Secularist journals mention the Guild

-of St. Matthew with marked respect. . . . We commend this

Report to the cstreful study of our friends, and without pledging

I ourselves to absolute approvieJ, we may say that any spare shillings

f might be bestowed on a much less worthy object tiian the Guild of

I St- Matthew.*'— CfcMrcfe Bells.

30
Becently Published. Each Threepence, post free.

"CHRIST & LIBERTY,"

AND

"CHRIST & FREETHOUGHT,"

Two addresses to Secularists by Rev. C. W. Stubbs, M.A.^
Vicar of Granborough.

** There is a charming straightforwardness and candour about
these discourses which is calculated at least to command the
* secular ' ear." — Aylesbury News.

" Had all teachers of Christianity Mr. Stubbs' courage and can-
dour, his clearness and force, his freedom from those conventional
and ecclesiastical narrownesses which caricature the character and
teaching of Christ, there would be less scepticism, and a much more
general acceptance of the Christian religion. These lectures of hi&
we welcome with pleasure as most important contributions to &
better understanding of the mission and teaching of the great
Regenerator of the Human Kace." — Northamptonshire Guardian.

By the same Author,

"THE CHURCH & DEMOCRACY,"

Two Sermons preached before the University of Cambridge.
Post free, Is. {A few copies 07ily remain.)

"Christ and Deraocracy." Sermons preached
before the Universities of Oxford and Cambrid^^
and elsewhere. 5s. (In preparation.)

"THE MYTHE OF LIFE.'

Four Sermons, with an Introduction on the Social
Mission of the Church. Post free, 3s. 6d.

" Secularism, Scepticism, Eitualism, Libera-
tionism." The fiulsean Lectures for 1881, by
Eev. J. FoxiiEY, M.A., Vicar of Market Weighton,
Kural Dean, formerly Fellow of St. John's College,.
Cambridge. Second Edition Is.

"Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the
cause of Industrial Depressions, and of Increase of
Want with Increase of Wealth: The Kemedy," by
Henby George (originally published at 7s. 6d.>
New Edition. 6d. (By post 8d.)

SI

" THE CHEISTIAlf SOdALBT,'

\ ^imnud for Cbmq^bt&l |Koi^

MonthlT, Id- Teady Babsciiption (post free^ Is, M,
(The &Bt mimber Tras published in Jttne, 1SS3.)

u r

THE CHDECH BEFORMEE."

Monthly, 2d. Yearly snhscaiption (post free^ ^, 6d,
(Pnblffihed on the :fifte«Qth of each njonth,>

" CHRIST AND THE PEOPLE."

Sermons, chiefly on the obligations of the Church to the

State, and to Humanity, by EeT, Thoiiias Haxcook, late

Curate of St. Stephen's, Le^sham, Second Edition.

Cloth, 4s. 6d. Posta^ 6d, (Pubhshed 6s,)

"For town pieabchers in the great centres of i^pul«tion« Mr«
HanoDck has pioTided direct help of * very v^uabi<? kind, Mid
shewn that only a Catholic can be a troe Bioad Churchman. As
■compared with the general ran of pious, ^niuinc, hazy sermons^
they are as a hreeze on the hiU top to the close atmo$pher« of a
sick room with its faint smell of medicines and p<>rfume»/' —
Church Times.

" A volume of more racy sermons does not often issue ftom the
press ; full of earnest piety they are characterised by a masculine
vigour of thought, a rich command of homely oxpressi\*e laii^uage^
■and a perfect fearlessness in utterance, ... he can hit both
right and left with a single stroke. The sated novel reader in seai'ch
of new sensation mi^t do much worse than have recourse to this
fresh and plain spea^ng volume." — Scotstnan.

" He is vigorous, clear, and learned.'*— Gto6<J.

" The Theory of Inspiration, or Why Men
do not believe the Bible." Two Loctui^es
delivered at Bristol by Rev. J. M. Wilson, M.A.,
F.R.A.S., Head Master of Clifton College. Nt^w
Edition. 4d.

'* Theology and Life." Sermons preaohod In
Newcastle-on-Tyne. By Rev. Profebhoh Bymmii,
M.A. Cr. 8vo. 28. 6d.

82

By the Rev. STEWART D. HEADLAM, B.A.
Warden of the G.S.M,

"The Secular T^Tork of Jesus Chiist, His
Apostles and tlie Churcli of England."
An address delivered to a Society of Secularists.
Second Edition. Id. (Post free l^d.)

" Priestcraft and Progress." Sermons and Lec-
tures (on *' Priests and Progress," "The Glorious
Gospel," ''Popular Mistakes about the Church's
Teaching," " Secular Value of the Church's
Catechism," '* Science and Art,'' &c., &c.) Second
and Cheaper Edition Is. By post Is. 2d.
" Our advice to clergy and laity is, buy it, read it, preach it, and

live by it." — Church Times,

"The Service of Humanity." Sermons and
Lectures on "The Service of Humanity," "The
Stage," " Some Difficulties encountered by Students
of Physical Science," " The Cultus of our Lady,""
*' Church and State,'' "Is Life worth Living," " God's
Visitations," " The Church and Liberalism.'' 2s. 6d.
(Post free.)
** Probably we have said enough to convince our readers that this.

is aji acceptable book of sermons, and it only remains to hope that

it will have a large circulation."— C^t/rc/i Review,

" Mr. Headlam is a staunch, outspoken man. He has a keen eye

for the good that there is in what is called Secularism, in the sta^,

in the cultus of the Virgin, and in Liberal politics. . . . Worthy

of a careful perusal." — Christian World.

" Theatres and Music Halls." A Lecture, with
a letter to the Bishop of London, and other cor-
respondence. Second Edition, 2d.
o

" Cliristian Socialism," by a Eadical Parson. Id.

" Ought Secularists to wish Christianity to
be true P " An address delivered before the East
London Branch of the National Secular Society by
Eev. G. Sarson, M.A., Rector of Orlestone.. 2d.
(Post free, 2f )

"Charles Kingsley, Poet, Beformer, and
Divine," by the same Author. Id. ^ y --

CATLIN and KERWOOD. Printers. lo, Rectory Road, Stoke Newtngton.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
REFERENCE DEPARTMBNT

Thii book ia under no circumatBiiaeft to be
tAk«ii froni the Bui&dmi

fawm lit

mimmmmmm

^'"^2^' 1926